


The Prince(ss) & The Pauper

by caprilo



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - 2000s, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Drinking, Drug Use, F/M, M/M, POV Third Person, Pregnancy, Recreational Drug Use, Suicide, Suicide Attempt, Suicide Notes, Teen Pregnancy, Underage Drinking, Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-08-10
Packaged: 2021-03-06 07:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 30
Words: 71,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25539376
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caprilo/pseuds/caprilo
Summary: Krista had it all, while her best friend, Armin couldn't afford her luxurious lifestyle. One day, when Krista's family wants her to meet the heir to a medical company, she discovers that the two sets of parents want them to get married. So, Krista sends Armin in to take her place instead. But what happens when Armin starts to fall for him?
Relationships: Armin Arlert & Eren Yeager, Armin Arlert/Eren Yeager, Armin Arlert/Marco Bott, Mikasa Ackerman & Jean Kirstein, Mikasa Ackerman/Jean Kirstein
Comments: 19
Kudos: 68





	1. Tale As Old As Time

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is also available on Wattpad for your viewing pleasure (written by myself) and is part of the list of works I'm publishing over here on AO3 to make my fanfiction more accessible.
> 
> I'm gonna treat this as a warning as well for anything that may trigger someone reading this so here's the list: Suicide/Suicide Attempt, Teen Pregnancy/Discussion of Abortion, and Underage Drinking/Drug Use. Because this isn't finished yet, I don't know if that's everything that I need to address so if I add something after this first note is made I'll write it in. I'm not one for surprises and I care about the mental health and wellbeing of anyone reading this so if putting warnings keeps people from having a sudden influx of negative emotions in association with my work then that's what I'll do
> 
> Enjoy your reading!

Krista walked through the dull halls of her high school with a feeling of loneliness fogging her brain. Trost High was filled with rich kids, just like her but unlike her, they were all for a lack of a term, sort of basic. Guys would be wearing their jeans below their bottoms and girls always had high heels and makeup on to go with the shortest skirts they owned. Krista, on the other hand, was always wearing ripped skinny jeans and video game shirts and oversized hoodies. One could say she wasn’t like the other girls but in reality, she wasn’t like anyone at her school.

“Hey, Krista!”

Well, except for one person she went to school with.

“Yo, Armin!” She yelled to the boy down the hallway.

Armin Arlert was the only person Krista enjoyed being around at her school. They had very similar tastes in fashion as well as music and video games. He taught her about different movies and what makes an objectively good movie while she taught him how to play different video games and recommended various books to him. They even looked alike as well. It was like they were fraternal twins from different families.

“I finished that book you lent me yesterday,” Armin said gleefully, handing Krista her copy of A Clockwork Orange. “Not my favourite personally but it was really good.”

“I was worried you’d be scared by it but I’m glad you liked it,” she put the book into her messenger bag. “Wanna get lunch?”

Armin nodded his head and followed her into the cafeteria and the two blondes stood in line to get something to eat. Krista grabbed a full course meal while her friend only grabbed an apple and some orange juice. She demanded he get something else and he used his usual line of, “I don’t have enough money.”

“I don’t give a fuck now grab something hot to eat or I’ll throw it on your tray for you,” she threatened, glaring at Armin as he reluctantly grabbed a slice of pizza and a salad.

The one major difference between the two friends was their economic status. Krista came from a multi-millionaire family of CEOs while Armin lived with his retired grandfather with leukemia and received a scholarship for their school which he only had because of his superb academics. No one would talk to Armin because of how much he kept his nose in his studies but Krista changed that about him and befriended him.

“So Sasha won’t shut up about her stupid party,” Krista complained, picking at her salad. “I even saw her handing out ugly invitations to people.”

“People seem hyped about it,” Armin pointed out a few of the guys who were high-fiving as the party girl in question walked away from them to other people. “Besides, the point of an invite is that you can turn it down.”

“But I’d rather not speak to her at all,” Krista whined.

“Hi guys!” said a loud voice.

Krista was gritting her teeth while Armin picked at his food. The girl hosting the party, Sasha Blouse, was standing at their table with a basket filled with pink envelopes. They didn’t like her but she controlled the status quo, so if they wanted to be left alone by everyone else, they had to rely on her to keep bullies off their backs.

“How are you doing, Sasha?” Krista groaned, making it clear that she was thoroughly annoyed by her presence.

“Not too bad! I just thought I’d come by and give you guys your invites to my party,” Sasha explained, handing both the blondes pink envelopes. “Armin, yours is special.”

Krista had received a detailed letter on the dress code required, the food being served, and the relationship status required for the event, while Armin received a work schedule and dress code.

“Did you really think you would be at my party to have fun?” Sasha laughed. “Daddy doesn’t allow poor people in our house.”

“Cute April Fool’s joke,” Armin put the invitation into his bookbag. “You’re a couple of days early though.”

“You bitch,” Krista hissed.

“I’m a bitch for paying your friend for a job? Ha! Pathetic,” Sasha sneered as she skipped off to hand out more invites.

“I swear, I’ll murder her in her goddamn sleep,” she growled, stabbing her lettuce with her fork.

“Calm down over there, American Psycho, it was already dead,” Armin always knew how to make her laugh when she was upset. “And you know I could use the money and by the looks of it, she’s paying a lot. You could always keep me company.”

“Who would I bring? The girlfriend that my parents don’t know about?” She asked sarcastically. “Okay, I’ll go only because you’re going to be there.”

The two enjoyed their lunch hour together before the bell rang and they had to separate for their classes. Krista skipped off to French class while Armin ran to the opposite side of the school for Biology. Both the students hated being apart for any reason. Armin didn’t own a cellphone and Krista never had much free time so it was almost impossible to see each other outside of her lunch period. When they could though, they were inseparable.

Much like other days, Krista and Armin couldn’t hang out. She ended up going home in the limousine her parents would always send for her and had a casual conversation with the driver. The nanny was at the front step and helped her inside, taking her coat and school bag from her.

“Your parents are waiting in the kitchen for you,” she said.

_My parents are home?_ She wondered.

Krista’s parents were never around much because of their jobs but there they were, sitting at the dining table. Her mother was writing things down while her father was staring at her intently.

“What’s up?” Krista asked, sitting in between her mother and father.

The two exchanged looks almost as if they were egging each other on to say something until finally, her father spoke up, “We need to talk about your future.”

“My future?” Krista didn’t sound impressed since they already had that conversation when she was fifteen. “I thought I already told you guys what I wanted to do.”

“This won’t affect your librarian science degree. It’s about something else,” her father looked to her mother. “Something your mom is going to tell you.”

Her mother heaved a sigh and shut her book. “We were given a proposition today at work from a business partner of ours, the Yeagers, and we have both agreed that you and their son, Eren, will get married.”

Krista’s mouth was agape as the sudden information settled in her mind. She didn’t think arranged marriages were a problem but then again, the year 2007 was full of surprises.

“Mom, that’s fucking ridiculous,” she said.

“Sweetie, watch your language. This is a good thing for you,” her mother insisted. “He’s a kind boy who can help break you out of your shell, and the wealth for you both when his parents and us pass on would be unimaginable.”

“I can’t go through with this!” Krista yelled. “This is wrong. You guys are the ones who said I should marry someone because I love them, not because of money or convenience.”

“Lower your voice!” her father boomed, his voice echoing through the room. “The wedding will be during the summer after your high school graduation after you have finished your exams and you will be meeting him this coming Sunday and I expect you to dress like a normal girl for once. You’re not getting out of this, Krista.”

“Fuck this, I’m going to Armin’s house!”

Before anyone could stop her, Krista drove her car off the property and cried as she went down the streets to find her best friend. She ended up speeding as she reached Armin’s street and pulled into his driveway, being careful to not crash into their garage door. She ran up to the door and started furiously knocking.

Armin heard a car screech to a stop and soon heard loud banging on the front door. He didn’t want his grandfather to wake up so he ran to the door and quietly opened it, seeing a crying dishevelled Krista standing on his doormat. Before he could say anything, she lunged into his arms.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, still being wary of his sleeping grandfather.

“My parents are making me marry some guy,” she sniffled, wiping her nose with her sweater sleeve. “He’s some doctor’s kid. Yeager is their last name, and I have to meet him this Sunday and be all girly and shit.”

“Yikes. Did you wanna stay here for the night?” Armin offered, knowing how intense her parents could be. “I’m sure my grandfather would be fine with it.”

Krista was about to refuse but then it hit her. She and Armin looked almost the same. They were blessed with similar vocals too, and to top it all off Armin would be the best decoy to use since he knew everything about her already. She saw past the seven-inch height difference and went for it.

“I need you to pretend to be me on Sunday,” she blurted out.

“Fuck no, Krista,” Armin replied immediately.

“What why? You’d be the perfect dupe!” She insisted.

“I’m pretty much a foot taller than you,” he said. “You’d have to wear heels whenever I couldn’t play your little stand in person.”

“That doesn’t matter, and besides, he’s a guy and you like guys and I’m a lesbian so it would be the perfect situation for the both of us!” she persisted.

“I made out with one guy at camp and suddenly I’m a homo, nice,” Armin bleakly said. “Now will you please decide if you’re going to stay here so I can call your parents and let them know that you ran here again?”

“I already told them where I was and I’m not giving you an answer until you agree to be me, Historia Krista Lenz Reiss!” She smirked as she saw him heave a massive sigh.

“Fine, I’ll go to the meeting thing as you,” he agreed, agitated. “I’m gonna get you pyjamas and set the couch up for myself.”

Krista cheered quietly and ran to his room just down the hall and settled herself in his bed. She knew he couldn’t say no whenever she used her full name, even if she figured it was a cheap shot to use it every time she didn’t get what she wanted. She thought it would be perfect for both of them, considering how shy Armin could be around other people and especially boys. She had a hunch that Armin was gay since she had never seen him be romantically attracted to girls before, and that incident at camp with him and that one guy didn’t help his case that much either. She loved him no matter what though and nothing could change that.

Armin said his goodnights to his friend and went to the couch with his biology homework. He loved her so much but at times she could be annoying and especially because of how persuasive she could be. It was the only reason that she brought up his alleged homosexuality; because she wanted something from him.

Truth be told, Armin didn’t know if he was straight or not. He had never felt attracted to anyone other than that guy at his camp a couple of summers before. He wouldn’t know how to react if he was gay or even bisexual. He wouldn’t know how to tell anyone if it was true either, and then he got himself wrapped into the sticky situation of pretending to be a lesbian and meet a boy she was going to have to marry.

_I promised, so I have to go through with it,_ he said as he shut his books for the night and shut the living room light off.


	2. Dear Future Husband

“Why the fuck am I doing this?” Armin cursed as he was bent over the edge of the bed. “And why the fuck do you own a corset?”

The Sunday had arrived and Armin was at Krista’s mansion getting ready for his date with the Yeagers and their son, Eren. She was helping him find an outfit to wear with her first item being a corset. He didn’t have the hourglass body that she did and without it, none of her clothes would fit him around the waist.

“It’s for cosplay mostly, but some days I wear it to look skinnier than I normally do,” she explained as she pulled on the strings tightly.

“You don’t need to wear this, you’re fine,” Armin groaned.

“Shut up, you’re gonna ruin the laces,” she pulled tighter. “Wanna wear a shirt with a skirt or a dress?”

She finished and Armin stood up and faced her. “I can’t wear pants?”

“I figured the skirt would better hide your…” she gestured to his pelvic region. “Unless you wanna learn how to tuck it?”

“Dress it is then,” Armin said as he took his pants off.

From the corner, the blonde male heard, “I’ve had a lot bigger.”

Armin rolled his eyes. “Really helpful Ymir.”

Ymir was Krista’s secret girlfriend who thought it would be funny to sneak in the morning of the big meeting to whisk Krista away on an ice cream date while Armin was stuck talking to people he didn’t know. The two never really cared for each other but Krista was more important than being petty towards each other so they made a friendship work. For the most part, things would be good but every once in a while she would try to mess with him, much like she was doing at that very moment.

“I’m the most helpful,” she said sarcastically as she flipped through one of Krista’s gaming magazines.

“I’m almost done, honey. I just gotta fix up his makeup and throw a wig on him,” Krista said as she sat her body double down at her makeup station.

She pulled out a couple of makeup kits and opened a drawer filled with wigs. Armin practically begged for the process to be over as she plucked his eyebrows and stuck many different types of tools near his eyes. This was all new to Armin as he didn’t have a mother around who used makeup. Neither of his parents was around.

Krista made some final adjustments to his new hair and revealed it to Armin in the mirror. “Et voila! Meet the new Krista.”

“Wow, you’re good,” Armin was impressed by how attractive he appeared, considering how masculine he could look at times.

“It was nothing, but you’ll have to start learning how to do your own makeup for when I’m not around so take as much as you want of this crap,” Krista said as she packed everything up.

“Krista, the Yeagers are here!” her mom yelled through the closed door.

“I’ll be out in a second!’ She yelled back before putting on her shoes.

Armin stood up and left the room once Krista and Ymir had hopped out the window and shimmied down the grapevines. He was more nervous than he had ever been in his life, even though he knew what to do. All he had to do was stay silent unless he needed to speak up and try to act like Krista, emphasis on try.

As Armin walked down the grand staircase, he caught a glimpse of the guests. There was a man with wiry brown hair standing next to a woman who Armin could only assume was his wife, an Asian girl around his age wearing a black dress with her hair up in a bun, and the boy himself, Eren Yeager, wearing a dress shirt and suit pants. Armin knew right away that this was the Yeager family.

“Allow me to introduce my beautiful daughter, Historia Krista Reiss,” her mother said as I shook hands with the parents.

“She’s been looking forward to this all day, haven’t you?” Her father was certain that Armin was his child.

“I was up all night thinking about what to wear,” Armin lied, putting on a fake smile.

“I thought you went to bed at eight last night,” her mom said.

“I couldn’t sleep,” he lied again before moving on to the teenagers. “I’m Krista.”

“Eren and this is Mikasa, my sister,” the boy said and the girl waved. “I hope it’s okay if she joins us for dinner.

“It’s not a problem at all,” Armin smiled warmly and led the guests to the dining room.

 _I guess it’s good I know this house like the back of my hand,_ he sighed as everyone took a seat.

“You didn’t have to lead them to the table, sweetie. That’s the butler’s job,” Mr. Reiss gritted his teeth a little.

“I wanted to make the welcome seem more personal so that way their son will like me more,” Armin lied. “Y’ know, since you want us to get along enough to get married.”

“Smart girl,” he patted Armin’s shoulder and sat at the head of the table.

The father, Grisha, started off the slight interrogation, “so, Historia‒”

“Please, call me Krista,” Armin responded.

“Krista, you turned eighteen not too long ago, didn’t you?” Grisha continued.

“In January,” Armin answered. “Thank you for getting me that car, Mom and Dad. It’s been a lifesaver.”

“You’re barely older than our kids,” Carla, Grisha’s wife spoke up. “Eren turned eighteen this past Wednesday, and Mikasa celebrated her birthday in February.”

“The day we celebrate adopting Mikasa is coming up as well, and we would love to have you over for it,” Eren said politely, almost like he was a computer running a program.

“As long as your parents don’t mind having another guest,” Armin said, hoping that they would mind.

“It would be an honour to have our future daughter-in-law over for Mikasa’s party,” Carla said as dinner was served.

Armin looked at the dish before him in slight disgust. He was a bit of a picky eater when it came to certain tastes like ranch dressing and cajun powder, but he steered clear of seafood, particularly oysters. Now, he had a plate filled with them.

He managed to get through all seven of them without barfing, but he ended up taking the longest to eat his meal. “Sorry, I have a bit of an upset stomach.”

“Why don’t the two of us go for a walk through your garden?” Eren suggested, wiping his face with his napkin.

“That would be a lovely idea,” Armin agreed, regaining his composure after eating a plate of seafood. “Let me go grab my sweater.”

Armin stood up as busboys started taking plates back into the kitchen and grabbed one of Krista’s plain black sweaters. “I’ll show you around.”

While the Reiss and Yeager families were chatting away as dessert was served, Armin and Eren walked around the backyard where the garden and oversized pool were and had a seat on the wooden bench amongst the flowers and vegetables. Neither one of them spoke. Armin was too busy worrying if Eren could tell he wasn’t the real Krista, and Eren was too preoccupied with how beautiful the floral arrangements looked. With two polar opposite thought processes, it seemed like they would never speak at all, at least until Eren spoke up.

“I love the garden,” he said, smelling the sunflowers. “These are my favourites.”

Armin was relieved at his notion so the silence didn’t have to go on for much longer. “They’re my favourites too! Oh, and I like daisies.”

“Really? Girls usually like roses and lilies, but then again you don’t seem like other girls,” Eren smiled.

Panicked, Armin blurted out, “Give a girl an orchid if you like her.”

“An orchid? Why an orchid?” Eren asked, curious at what that could have meant.

“Orchids technically mean virility but they mean love and strength,” Armin explained. “It shows that you care as well and didn’t go for the obvious choice of a red rose.”

“That’s nice to know. I’ll be sure to remember when I find a person I like enough to get flowers for,” Eren said, standing up and stretching. “Should we keep walking?”

“Sure,” Armin agreed, following Eren down the pathway.

The two teens walked among the trees as the breeze grew stronger. Armin had to be careful to keep his undergarments from showing and ended up tying his sweater around his waist to keep the wind from lifting his skirt up. It wasn’t like he was wearing ladies’ underwear, but a pair of boxer briefs showing under a skirt would look suspicious.

“Do you have any hobbies?” Eren asked. He was curious about the person standing next to him as she didn’t seem the way her parents had described her.

“Video games,” Armin replied. “I like playing them when I’m not busy.”

“And let me guess, your mom made you dress up like that and if you had the choice, you would wear your emo jeans,” Eren smirked, crossing his arms.

Stunned by his answer, Armin said, “Yeah, actually, and I wouldn’t be wearing makeup either.”

“I figured. You don’t look like other girls,” Eren was intrigued by Krista and how she presented herself as completely different from dinner with her parents. She was almost vomiting at the table and now she’s fine with a breath of fresh air in her system. Krista wasn’t like other girls, she was weirder than them and wasn’t afraid to show it.

Armin, on the other hand, took this as an indicator that Eren knew he wasn’t Krista. “I’m not usually this nervous, if that’s what you mean.”

“No no, I just mean that you’re not boring,” Eren explained. “Um, do you have any friends at all?”

“I do,” Armin replied. “Just one though. He and I go to school together. He’s the best thing that ever happened to me.”

“You guys go to Trost, right? You might know my sister’s boyfriend then,” Eren said, picking one of the maple leaves growing off of the trees. “His name is Jean Kirschtein, he kinda looks like a horse. Hangs around with this guy covered in freckles.”

“I don’t think I noticed any people who look like horses but I know of the freckled kid,” Armin answered. “His name’s Marco. He’s on a scholarship just like me‒my friend Armin!”

Armin had to be more careful when sharing details about himself. He was pretending to be Krista and had to talk about himself from her perspective to make this work.

“Armin is your friend?” Eren inquired at the new name.

“Yeah. He can’t afford the expenses of Trost High, but he has a scholarship because he gets straight a’s,” Armin explained. “His grandfather has leukemia and that’s where all their money goes.”

“It sounds like your friend has a hard life,” Eren took Armin’s hand and gave a reassuring squeeze.

Armin smiled. “He would never admit it to anyone, but he does. He has to balance school and taking care of his grandfather and he doesn’t get a break. I go grocery shopping with him because he doesn’t own a car.”

Eren was taken aback by Krista’s kindness. She cared so much for her friend. She wasn’t like other girls he knew and dated. She wasn’t a selfish bully. It made him smile as he stood beside her. He wanted to know more about Krista and thought this marriage thing would work out between them.

“I’m into video games too,” Eren said. “Maybe we could play together sometime?”

“Yeah,” Armin said, looking at the sunset. “We should be heading back. It’s almost dusk.”

Armin and Eren walked back in silence but with a better sense of each other. Eren knew he wanted to see more of this girl while Armin wanted to get the day over with. They both walked back slowly through so their day together would be completely over.

Despite never wanting to pretend to be Krista again, he wanted to spend more time with Eren himself. Having to pretend to be his lesbian friend felt like he was putting up a wall that prevented him from being true to him. But, then again, he could use this to his advantage if he so desired.

Eren said his goodbyes and got into his parent’s car with Mikasa and they drove home. His parents wouldn’t stop badgering him about how his walk went and eventually he put his headphones in to drown them out. He pulled out his phone and texted his sister about the details of his first date.

Armin was hiding in Krista’s room, frantically waiting by the phone for Krista to call, but was surprised when she and Ymir climbed through the window. “Where have you been?”

“Ice cream, then sex. You should know that that’s what we usually end up doing,” Krista giggled, hugging Armin. “How was your date?”

Mikasa texted Eren despite them being in the backseat together, _How was the date?_

Eren didn’t think twice before responding, _she’s really cool. I think maybe this whole marriage thing could work out for us if we actually fell in love…_

And Armin, after thinking about how to answer without sounding eager, replied to Krista with, “I’d like to see him again, but as me…”


	3. Other Side Of Me

Eren sat in his king-sized bed, lost in thought. This would happen often when he felt himself become infatuated with somebody and this time was no different, except for the fact that he had only ever had this feeling about boys most of the time and now he was feeling this way about a girl, specifically Krista Reiss.

She surprised him in ways he never thought he could be surprised. He thought he had figured girls out long ago, but she was very different from his bias. She cared for her friend deeply and genuinely (he was amazed at how many girls would ruin a friend’s life for one seemingly minuscule reason.) She liked video games and, to be fair, a lot of girls liked video games but none were as proud of being a gamer as she was. Most of all, she was interesting to talk to and Eren felt so comfortable around her. He felt like he could say anything to her and she wouldn’t make him feel stupid for it.

“Thinking about Krista?” His sister, Mikasa, asked as she held a tray carrying a teapot and two mugs. “It’s Earl Grey.”

“Come in,” Eren waved her over and took a mug off of the tray. “And yes, I’m thinking about Krista.”

“I don’t get a good vibe from her,” Mikasa explained as she poured herself and Eren some tea. “It’s like she’s hiding something. Didn’t her mother say she was super outgoing?”

“Maybe she’s shy around new people?” Eren offered. “I know you’re like that to some extent.”

“Eren, there’s a difference between being shy and having anxiety,” Mikasa took a sip from her red mug. “Krista was described as a lover of people and would always talk to everyone when her parents had parties.”

“Mikasa, I get that you’re worried about me,” Eren lied, he didn’t get it at all. “But, I think I might like her, so can you please back off? We’re not little kids anymore.”

Mikasa, upset, took Eren’s half-finished mug from his hands and left for her room to drink by herself, while Eren simply rolled his eyes and figured she would get over her temper tantrum within the hour and started reading something from his massive library.

Eren and Mikasa had always been close to each other ever since his parents adopted her when he was five years old. She was a month older than him though that didn’t matter much to Mikasa at the time.

The two didn’t have a lot of friends growing up since Eren kept his nose in a book while Mikasa was considered too weird to hang out with because she was half-Asian and always hanging off of her brother. From her perspective, Eren was the only boy that would ever love her, and then she met Jean while she was on one of her nightly walks.

She had been followed before when she went out for the night but never grabbed at by a stranger. She always knew how to handle herself and was able to fend the guy off, and when she felt a tap on her shoulder and heard a low voice, she almost took that person out too. It was only Jean, making sure she was okay but prepared to run away if things went south for him.

Jean walked her home that night and the two exchanged numbers before she went inside. Soon after, they started dating and Mikasa’s world wasn’t so small anymore.

Mikasa took a deep breath and returned to Eren’s room and gave him back his tea. “I’m sorry, but you’re my little brother and you were my only friend for the longest time. I just don’t want to be forgotten when you and Krista get married in July.”

Eren was aware of Mikasa having abandonment issues when she was adopted. Instead of running around stores or playgrounds as he did, Mikasa would stay with their mom and dad and would freak out any time she was falling behind or if she had to be away from their parents for even a few seconds. She would start to cry and even have panic attacks. Eren never liked seeing her freak out so he always let her hang out with him at recess. She was never left alone for anything, though Eren has always wondered if that was the right choice to make.

“It’s okay, Mikasa,” Eren couldn’t ever be mad at her, not with her mental health problems causing the ruckus. “Should we book an appointment with your therapist?”

“I think so,” Mikasa said, laying next to her brother. “I love you.”

Eren smiled and replied, “I love you too.”

**. . .**

Krista finished another one of her video games and scrolled through her Playstation 2 to see if she had any other games she wanted to play or continue playing. Nothing caught her eye right away but she was looking to pass the time so she opened up Sly Cooper: Band of Thieves and started a new save file. Whenever she was bored, she knew that Sly and his friends would be able to keep her busy (she also thought Carmelita Fox was hot.)

But not even Sly Cooper swinging through the air and sneaking around on rooftops could fill her boredom. None of her other games had that same replay factor that this particular one did. She couldn’t even read something new and exciting from her library because she hadn’t gotten any new books yet. She was lost in her boredom.

The phone in her room started to ring loudly, jogging Krista back to reality. She picked it up and answered with, “Reiss residence.”

“Krista?” said a voice she didn’t recognize.

She guessed the mystery voice. “Eren?”

“Yes, hi,” he replied. “You sound different on the phone. Are you coming down with something?”

Krista soon realized that maybe she and Armin weren’t blessed with similar vocal cords after all and had to make an excuse for the higher-pitched voice. “I think it’s just the phone.”

“If you say so…” Eren wasn’t convinced, and neither was Mikasa. “Look, I’m not doing anything tomorrow if you and Armin wanted to hang out with Mikasa and me. I told her about Armin and she really wants to meet him.”

Krista became worried because Armin wouldn’t be able to dress up as her since he was going to the hospital that day, and she couldn’t blow Eren and Mikasa off after their whole voices-sounding-different debacle. “Armin has to help his grandfather with work but I’m down to hang out.”

“Awesome!” Eren replied. “I’ll pick you up and we can all hang out together. I’ll be there at four tomorrow, is that okay?”

“Of course!” Krista agreed nervously. “I’ll see you at four. Bye!”

She didn’t wait for a reply and hung up and ran out of her room to get in her car and drive to Armin’s house to alert him of the situation she had gotten herself into.

Armin was busy washing up dishes when he heard someone knocking at the door. He looked out the kitchen window and saw Krista’s car in his driveway and could only imagine what trouble she got herself into this time. Sometimes, Krista was hard to deal with especially because she was keeping secrets and got him involved.

Nonetheless, he dried his hands and opened the door. “What’s up?”

“We have a problem,” she replied, anxious.

“And I have a home phone and you can just call me,” Armin replied, letting her walk in.

Krista sat on his couch, bouncing her legs up and down. “He heard my voice on the phone and apparently I sound very different from you and now I have to hang out with him and his sister whose name I don’t even know because I didn’t want him to suspect anything else-!”

“Whoa, Krista. Take a deep breath,” Armin interrupted her as he sat down beside her. “Do you need me to fill in for you?”

“No, I can do it but I need you to tell me everything you know about them so that way I can be prepared,” Krista replied. “Just, fill me in so that way I can be ready…”

**. . .**

The next day rolled around and after school, Krista got ready in a pair of black jeans and a pullover hoodie and waited by the door for Eren to knock. She was nervous, considering she didn’t have Armin to fall back on but she knew that she needed to have confidence in herself or else her plan wouldn’t work out at all.

At exactly four, Krista heard a knock at the door and she rushed over to answer it. A taller boy with raven black hair and amber eyes which she could only assume was Eren was standing at her front door along with an Asian girl, who she thought was Mikasa, dressed in all black like she was.

“Hi,” Krista greeted them. “Let me grab my shoes and then we can all hang out.”

“I thought maybe the three of us could all play video games with you,” Eren replied, and Krista noticed that a boy she went to school with, Jean, was standing behind the girl.

“Sure, I’ll just need to get my room fixed up a bit…”

Krista ran up to her room and fixed her blankets and hid any dirty clothes that were on her floor before they got there. Eren and Jean took a seat on her couch while Mikasa stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do.

“You can have a seat,” Krista said, gesturing to the couch. “There’s enough room on there for all of us.”

Mikasa nodded her head and took a seat in between Eren and Jean, who were fighting over who got to be Pikachu in Smash Bros. Melee. Of course, Krista snuck in and chose Pikachu before they noticed and helped Mikasa with the controls.

“These are to move, this is to attack, and this is to jump. Now, let’s get this game started!”

The four teens spent an hour playing rounds against each other with some being team-ups and others being individual. Krista, to no one’s surprise, racked up the most wins while Mikasa was in last with zero wins. Eren and Jean were practically neck and neck for second place but Eren eventually took silver while Jean had to settle for the bronze medal. They were all having fun, but Eren was still very suspicious of Krista and decided to figure out what was going on with her.

“So, you seem shorter today,” Eren said to Krista who was busy setting up their next game.

Krista knew what Eren was trying to achieve and she made sure it wouldn’t work. “I was wearing heels on Sunday but I have been growing taller for a while now.”

“You’ve been that height ever since grade nine,” Jean, unbeknownst to him, wasn’t helping the situation.

“That’s why I said for a _while_ ,” Krista emphasized. “Now who wants to play Halo?”

“I think I’m gonna call it a night,” Jean said, taking Mikasa’s hand. “I’m gonna bring your sister home, okay?”

“No worries,” Eren replied. “Have a good night guys.”

Once they were gone, Eren sat next to Krista as she fiddled with the Xbox. He didn’t like this version of her he was seeing. She wasn’t the person he thought she was. She seemed so arrogant and competitive. She liked to show off her skills and he was aware that she was proud of being a gamer but there’s a difference between being proud of yourself and being obnoxious.

“Wanna keep playing?” Krista asked, handing him a controller.

He ignored all of those thoughts and maybe figured that this was the real Krista and not the girl he met on Sunday who was shy and hated oysters. “Sure.”

Meanwhile, Mikasa and Jean walked through the streets and made their way back to her place. Mikasa liked going for walks rather than polluting the air with exhaust fumes. It was also a great way for her to calm down when something was bothering her, and indeed, something was bothering her.

“Is Krista usually so annoying?” Mikasa asked Jean.

Jean, confused, replied, “Sometimes, especially when it comes to reading. God, I can’t stand her when she talks about books. She acts like such a know-it-all. Why do you ask?”

“She was different from the last time we met her. Like, she was so shy and barely spoke a word at the table. Now, she wouldn’t stop yelling about beating everyone,” Mikasa explained. “It’s like she became a completely different person.”

“Well, that loud and obnoxious girl in there is the Krista I know,” Jean said as they turned onto Mikasa’s street. “Maybe she’s just trying to change, but it’s hard to do a complete one-eighty on your personality.”

“Wanna come inside?” Mikasa asked in a flirty tone of voice. “Nobody’s gonna home until at least nine tonight.”

“Now you’re speaking my language,” Jean smirked as he leaned down to kiss his girlfriend on the lips.

And back at Krista’s place, anything but love was in the air…

Eren grew tired of constantly getting defeated by Krista. He wouldn’t be so upset though if she hadn't been so vocal about being better at shooting than him. Soon, he tossed the controller aside and groaned in frustration.

“You don’t have to be such a sore loser,” Krista replied.

“You don’t have to be such a bitch,” Eren growled back. “Like seriously, it’s really annoying. If this is how you really are, then I don’t wanna get married.”

“Firstly, we don’t get a choice in the matter. Secondly, I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I get really into games and I forget that it’s just for fun. I know it’s dumb but I can’t help it.”

“Krista, why didn’t you act this way when we first met each other?” Eren asked. “I would have understood.”

Krista froze and realized that Armin acted like himself instead of her and because they were opposites when it came to mannerisms and attitude, she knew she had to think of something to fix the situation. “Because that is me, but this is also me. I’m an intense gamer who’s shy around people I barely know. I’m into movies and Dungeons & Dragons and other geeky things like that. I’m just an introverted person who can be intense sometimes.”

Eren took her explanation to heart, as well as her interest in Dungeons & Dragons. “Maybe I just jumped to conclusions then, Krista.”

“I didn’t exactly make this easy, turning into a complete child and all,” Krista laid down beside him. “Thank you for understanding.”

“No worries…”

Eren saw a moment of flirtation and leaned over to kiss Krista but was held back by her hands on his chest.

“Maybe you should head home now,” Krista insisted. “Did you need a ride?”

“No, Mikasa likes to walk home from places so they left the car here,” Eren replied, his embarrassment resonating on his cheeks. “I’ll let myself out. You have a good night, and tell Armin I say hi.”

“I will. You have a good night too,” Krista waved as Eren put his sneakers back on and raced down the stairs.

Once he was out of the house, Krista immediately rang up Armin on the phone for another set of bad news.

Armin was once again washing dishes when he received a call. Having been interrupted for the second time left him feeling a little annoyed but he figured it could be important so he dried his hands off and answered the call.

“Hello?” He asked.

“Armin, we have a problem!” Krista yelled from the other side.

“That’s your catchphrase, isn’t it?” Armin groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in between his fingers. “What the fuck happened this time?”

“I did everything you said and remembered everything you told me and then Eren was getting weird about how I was acting because apparently the Krista he knows is quiet and nice and I acted like myself and then he got mad at me and then-!”

“Slow down and deep breaths, Krista,” Armin interrupted her, feeling a sense of deja vu. “So, you acted like yourself, but Eren is only familiar with my version of you.”

“Yeah,” Krista replied, exhausted from all the talking she was doing. “If this is gonna work, I need you to keep pretending that you’re me.”

Despite the anger erupting in his mind, Armin reluctantly agreed to her plans and said goodnight so he could finish doing the dishes. He hated how he could never say no to Krista and how reckless she could be at times. She wanted this to work, but didn’t even know how to act around him. Armin didn’t know either, but his feelings were different.

 _Maybe this won’t be so bad…_ Armin thought to himself as he drained the water in the sink and went back to his biology homework for the rest of the night.


	4. It's My Party, I'll Cry If I Want To

The school bell rang and prompted students to run to their lockers and get everything they needed before catching the bus. It was the weekend, and for once, neither Armin nor Krista had any plans and could finally hang out together without wedding duties and dressing up getting in the way of things.

That is until Armin had started talking. “I forgot to mention that Eren invited me over to his place for his sister’s adoption anniversary party.”

Krista frowned. “You couldn’t have mentioned that sooner?”

“I just needed to wait for my allowance so I could get her something nice,” Armin explained. “I managed to get five dollars from tutoring the neighbour’s kid so that means I have thirty dollars to spend after-tax.”

“You can’t get shit with that money. I’ll buy it for you,” Krista insisted. “When do you need to get it?”

Armin knew he forgot to mention that earlier. “Today?”

“The party’s today?!” Krista yelled, dragging Armin to her limousine in frustration. “C’mon, let’s get to the mall pronto!”

The driver practically sped down the streets and parked out front. The two blondes got out and ran to the mall, wandering around and pondering on what sores they should look at to buy Mikasa’s present.

“What would be a good present for a girl who wears black all the time?” Armin wondered, intimidated by all of the stores.

“Hot Topic, obviously,” Krista replied and dragged Armin to the nearest Hot Topic they could find.

Once they got inside, Krista was quick to ask for help from an associate. He was covered in tattoos and had a neon green mohawk and wore skulls and crossbones on his clothes. Armin was too nervous to talk to anyone there and ended up looking around the store by himself to see if he could find something.

As Eren walked through the mall, he didn’t think anyone else would be looking around for a present in Hot Topic but he was mistaken when he saw a blonde girl standing at the clearance section near the front of the store. He rushed over to who he thought was Krista, but upon further inspection, he became confused and didn’t know who he was looking at.

“I’m sorry if this is wrong, but are you, Krista?” Eren asked cautiously.

The blonde turned their head up towards him and replied, “You must be Eren. I’m Krista’s friend, Armin. I don’t know if she mentioned me.”

“She did. It’s very nice to finally meet you,” Eren shook Armin’s hand, feeling a familiar warm and inviting nature. “Are you sure we haven’t met before?”

Armin became immediately nervous and made an excuse he thought would suffice, “Maybe Krista has shown you a picture of me? Not that she does this to everyone, of course, but maybe she showed you one of me?”

“I guess, maybe,” Eren replied, knowing very well that Armin was lying.

Armin heard his name being called from the other end of the store and saw Krista running up to him and Eren with a couple of shopping bags in her hands. She looked surprised and the two exchanged a nervous glance that Eren didn’t notice. He was busy looking at something else.

“Eren! Funny seeing you here!” Krista greeted him. “You don’t look like the kind of guy who shops here.”

“I’m just picking up a present for Mikasa,” Eren explained. “You doing the same thing?”

“Yeah, and Armin is here to help me,” she also explained. “We should get going though. I need to get ready and I only have a couple of hours to do just that. Bye, Eren!”

Armin managed to wave goodbye before being dragged off back to Krista’s limo and they went to her house to help Armin get ready for Mikasa’s party.

**. . .**

Armin felt a tug as Krista tightened the corset while he was bent over her bed once again. This was the only part he hated about having to pretend he was Krista. Dressing up like her was the nightmare that made him lucky he was a man. Though corsets may be an outdated invention (and a rather dangerous one), he would always be lucky that he was a man. Not having to worry about appearance was something he took pride in.

Now though, he had to wear a corset, tweeze his eyebrows, wear makeup, and wear uncomfortable and revealing clothing, the same clothing women were shamed for wearing.

“Can I please wear something comfortable for once?” Armin begged, all the air escaping his lungs.

Krista held up a sparkling party dress and shook her head. “I’m assuming this is a somewhat fancy event so you’ll need to wear something nice. You’re gonna wear this, now step into it from the top so I can shimmy it up your body.”

Armin sighed as Krista pulled the pink sequined dress up his body and zipped up the back. She grabbed a pair of nylon tights and helped slip them onto his legs and gave him ankle socks and sneakers to put on while she got her makeup ready.

“Are you excited?” Krista asked as she applied a soft brown eyeshadow colour to Armin’s eyelids.

“I’m not sure how to feel,” Armin replied. “I don’t want anything to go wrong.”

“Pout your lips for me,” Krista ordered and Armin followed. “Nothing is gonna go wrong. Eren likes you and I think so does Mikasa from what you told me. Like, if they saw you without clothes on and realized you aren’t me well maybe then they wouldn’t like you but I honestly doubt that would happen. It’s not like you guys are gonna do it, so try not to worry about it, okay?”

Armin gave a thumbs-up as to not ruin Krista’s work. He figured that she was right and that everything would be okay, but he still couldn’t help but worry. He had no idea what to do at a party since he had never been to one before, especially one as specific as this.

Krista put some finishing touches of blush onto his cheeks and tied back his hair and put a clip-on bun onto the back of it, then let Armin admire himself in the mirror. “You like it?”

“It looks awesome,” Armin gushed as he stood up to get a full look at his ensemble. “Wow, it _really_ looks awesome!”

Krista blushed as she marvelled at her best friend. She dressed him up in a stoned baby pink cocktail dress with white chiffon underneath to give the skirt some volume and gave him a shoulder wrap to throw over it. She had never felt more proud of her skills.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna go into fashion?” Armin joked, knowing the outcome of that question.

“Go wait outside for Eren. He should be here any minute‒”

Krista was interrupted by her loud doorbell and shoved Armin down the stairs. “Remember what I said, now go get some.”

With a slap on the butt, Armin picked up the gift bag and opened the door. Eren was standing on the other side wearing a button-up shirt and navy slacks with dress shoes, similar to what he was wearing when they first met. It was enough to make Armin blush as Eren extended his hand towards him.

“Shall we?” Eren asked.

Armin accepted the gesture and intertwined his fingers with Eren’s. His hand was warm, much like his personality, and it lit a spark in Armin’s thoughts. He felt attracted to him, similar to how he felt about the boy at his summer camp but slightly different. It wasn’t love, he didn’t know what it was, but something was there and it made dressing up as a lesbian all worthwhile.

Riding in the back of the limousine, Eren hadn’t let go of the blonde’s hand. He didn’t want to. He wanted to try and make a connection with her, not because his parents said he needed to get married but because he didn’t want to screw things up with her. After what happened in her room the previous night, he needed a little redemption for upsetting her by trying to kiss her unprompted.

“You excited?” He asked.

Armin, nervous, replied, “Yeah. I’ve just never been to a party before.”

“Really? Those people are missing out,” Eren smiled as they pulled up to his house.

Eren ran out of the limo to the other side and opened the door for his date. He helped her out and walked beside her with his arm around her shoulders. She seemed taller again, but he figured she was wearing those platform sneakers that looked like normal flat shoes.

The two entered Eren’s home where Grisha and Carla Yeager were in the living room with Jean and Mikasa, who was opening presents with a smile on her face.

“Hello, Krista!” Carla greeted Armin.

“Have a seat next to Jean,” Grisha said.

Armin took his shoes off and sat next to Jean, with Eren sitting beside him. “I’m not overdressed, am I?”

“Goodness no, you look beautiful,” Eren answered. “What’s on the agenda today?”

“Well, after Mikasa opens Krista’s gift, we’re going to head out for the night so you kids can have the house to yourselves,” Carla explained. “And because Jean turns eighteen tomorrow, we thought we’d leave the wine and champagne out for you guys.”

“Which you will only drink in moderation,” Grisha insisted. “I don’t wish to find you kids drunk when we get home.”

“Yes, dad,” Mikasa rolled her eyes and opened her last present, pulling out a few heavy metal and grunge band shirts from the bands Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Linkin Park, and Soundgarden. “These will be perfect for my collection!”

“I’m glad you like them! Armin helped me pick them out,” Armin was getting better at pretending to be Krista by the minute.

“Okay, we’ll let you guys have your little party,” Carla said, standing up with Grisha. “Remember what your father said, kids!”

The kids didn’t listen and Jean immediately poured himself and the others copious amounts of wine. Eren was excited, Mikasa was neutral about everything, and Armin was terrified. The others didn’t know, but Armin was only seventeen and had never had alcohol before. Not even a sip at Christmas with the family. His grandfather had always warned him about alcoholism and how alcohol could kill you if you drank too much at once, so he made sure he never touched the stuff.

“A toast to the most beautiful girl in the room,” Jean slurred, having already had a couple of glasses of wine. “I love you, Mikasa.”

“I love you too,” Mikasa giggled and leaned over to kiss him, while Eren rolled his eyes and Armin sipped his second glass of wine.

As the night went on, Jean and Mikasa had disappeared off to her room, Armin began to feel slightly off as he downed his fourth or fifth glass of wine (he couldn’t remember after the third glass) and Eren noticed both of these events right away. He chose to take care of his drunk fiance overrun off to find his sister. She was safe with Jean, so he knew nothing could go wrong

“You need a ride home?” Eren asked Armin cautiously.

“I need a trash can,” Armin replied as he stood up and ran to the kitchen.

Eren followed behind him and hugged him close as Armin barfed up whatever he had to snack on just minutes before into the sink. Armin couldn’t help but feel guilty about getting drunk at a place he had never been to but also because he couldn’t say no to Jean every time he poured Armin another glass of wine.

“I’m sorry I’m such a mess tonight,” Armin apologized, leaning against the counter and crying. “First I act like a crazy person, and then I get drunk and vomit into your really nice sink‒”

“Don’t worry about the sink, Krista. I can clean that up,” Eren insisted. “I should have told Jean to back off. He has a bad habit of getting people drunk at parties, and now he’s upstairs banging my sister.”

“But we’re supposed to get married and I look like a total train wreck,” Armin continued to cry. “I feel so stupid!”

“Krista, look at me,” Eren said, forcing Armin to look into his eyes. “We’re gonna get you cleaned up, you can borrow some of my clothes and you’re going to rest for a little bit, okay?”

Armin nodded, stumbling forward and falling into Eren’s arms. “Can I have a mint?”

Eren pursed his lips to hide the smile that was on his face. “You can have as many mints as you want.”

Eren helped the blonde up to his room and waited outside with the door shut and a pack of Altoids in his hand. He was forced to listen to Mikasa’s squeaks and Jean’s grunts as her bedframe thumped against the wall.

Eren never liked Jean. He felt that given Mikasa’s bad track record with guys, she had picked another bad apple. Eren thought that Jean was sleazy, especially when he started getting her drunk at parties and dragging her off to some room or bush somewhere to have sex. He could never tell Mikasa how he felt though because she would kill him for talking shit about her boyfriend of three years.

A few minutes had past but the blonde hadn’t returned from his room, so Eren cautiously opened the door. He saw Armin laying down on his bed in a deep sleep dressed in a pair of boxers and one of his band tees. It was the sexiest thing his fiancee had ever worn in front of him.

Eren quietly walked over to the sleeping male and nudged his shoulder, startling Armin and waking him up. “Sorry, I just found these for you.”

Armin takes the pack and pops one of the mints into his mouth. “Thank you.”

The two stared at each other as a sexual tension grew between them. Armin knew it was wrong but he couldn’t help but lean closer to Eren and reach out for his waist. He pulled Eren on top of him and the two stayed like that for a minute or so, and Armin gazed lustfully into Eren’s amber eyes. He wanted something to happen.

 _Krista…_ That was all Eren could think at that moment as he leaned down and granted the blonde’s silent wish as the night blurred into one continuous moment, only to be stitched together by the string of kisses that went well past midnight.


	5. Hurting Brains & Broken Hearts

Armin woke up early the next morning with a terrible headache and his makeup a mess. He noticed how he wasn’t wearing the dress or corset anymore, as well as a sleeping Eren Yeager next to him in a bed that wasn’t his own.

Armin began to panic at the repercussions this would have on the plan and immediately jumped out of the bed to gather his things. Quietly but quickly, he grabbed a plastic bag and stuffed his things into it and put his shoes on. He noticed a phone on the stand next to the couch and called his home phone, knowing that his grandfather would be awake doing his daily stretching.

It took a few seconds, but he did get through to his grandpa. “Hey, grandpa. I’m kind of in a sticky situation right now… I’ll explain when you get here, it isn’t that far…”

Armin searched around for an address, finding it on a phone bill on the coffee table and telling it to his grandfather. “It’s not too far from where we live… Okay, I’ll see you soon, and thank you again.”

Armin hung up the phone and noticed the mess he and the others made last night. He figured that because he had a few minutes that he could pass the time and say thank you by fixing the living room before his parents got home (little did he know they were sleeping in their room upstairs, furious about how the living room looked when they got there) and so he grabbed the glasses and wine bottles and took them to the kitchen.

It didn’t take long for his grandfather to show up, and so he wrote a little note for Eren to read when he woke up and quickly dashed out the door and into his grandfather’s car, not aware of how he was dressed. “Thank you again for picking me up.”

“It’s not a problem, but I thought you were staying at Krista’s?” He asked, driving back to their place. “And you’re wearing makeup as well, and where are your pants…?”

Armin looked down at his legs first and then looked in the rearview mirror and saw lipgloss smeared all over his face and mascara marks on his under eyes. “I can explain…?”

“Are you a woman?” His grandfather asked. “I won’t be mad if you say yes—I’ll always support you—but I would like to know just in case I have to do some changes to your paperwork.”

“No, grandpa, I’m not trans,” Armin replied. “This is just something that would be harder to explain.”

“If I can be taught to understand gender and sexuality despite how I was raised, I can be taught to understand anything. Now, go on and explain,” his grandfather insisted.

Armin sighed and responded with, “Krista is getting married to this guy who lived at that house you picked me up from‒”

“I thought she was a lesbian?” his grandfather interrupted him.

“That’s why she’s making me pretend to be her, so that way she makes everyone else including herself happy,” I finished.

“So, you’re not a woman,” his grandfather said, pulling into their driveway.

“No, I’m a man,” Armin explained. “A gay man who’s only doing this because he likes the guy Krista is being forced to marry, but he only sees me as Krista…”

Armin leaned on his grandfather’s shoulder as a wave of depression washed over him. He couldn’t stop denying his feelings for Eren, but couldn’t help but feel they were unrequited since he only ever met him as Krista, minus the time at the mall but he couldn’t let Eren get suspicious. It would ruin everything.

“Can I have breakfast?” Armin asked as they walked back inside.

“I already made you something to eat. You just have to heat it up,” his grandfather replied as they walked into the kitchen and spent the rest of the morning together.

**. . .**

Eren woke up late in the morning to find the blonde missing from his bed. His empty bed triggered his memories from the previous night as his head pounded from his minimal alcohol intake (he couldn’t hold his liquor well.) He wasn’t proud of himself for coming onto a drunk girl the way he did. He could try to justify his actions by saying she pulled him for a kiss, but it just felt like an excuse a rapist would make and a rapist he was not.

Not wanting to dwell on the past for any longer, Eren got up and walked downstairs to fix himself some breakfast, finding a blue sticky note on the wall at the bottom of the stairs.

 _I’m really sorry about disappearing this morning but I had to get some stuff done this weekend and couldn’t afford to stick around. I did my best to clean up the living room before anyone saw it but there’s still a purple stain on the carpet that I couldn’t get out. I’ll have your clothes washed and returned to you ASAP. Thank you again for letting me sleepover! From, Krista,_ it said.

Eren smiled at how cute the handwriting was. He remembered everything from that night. The way she slept like a baby to the curves of her body that she wouldn’t let him touch. Then, he remembered that she wasn’t wearing pants and blushed at the thought of her running home in his boxers.

“You’re awake,” Eren heard Mikasa say from the kitchen. “I saw that on the side table and thought I’d stick it to the wall for you to read.”

“Thanks?” Eren replied. “Did she actually sneak out this morning? I would have heard her.”

“You wouldn’t have heard a tornado if it rolled through here,” Mikasa retorted as she washed the dishes. “And I managed to get the stain she was talking about out of the carpet. Hopefully, Mom and Dad didn’t notice it.”

“Oh we did,” Grisha said as he and Carla walked into the kitchen. “Morning guys.”

“Morning,” Eren replied. “I’m sorry it got out of hand last night. I was gonna clean up but Krista got sick.”

“I’m not mad, it’s just something you’ll have to learn,” their father replied as he looked at his newspaper. “And where is Krista? You didn’t send her home in that state, did you?”

“No, she slept over, but she left early this morning,” Mikasa explained, and Eren handed Carla the blue note.

“Tell her I say thank you for cleaning up when she didn’t have to,” she said, her attention back on her paperwork.

Thumping down the stairs could be heard and Jean appeared in the kitchen wearing sweatpants and no shirt. “Morning.”

Mikasa looked away, embarrassed, and Eren squinted his eyes at Jean with disgust. Grisha and Carla were polite and greeted him back and let him sit at the table for coffee and breakfast. Eren rolled his eyes as he whipped up eggs and bacon for himself, his dad, and Jean, while Mikasa made herself and their mom omelettes for breakfast (they were vegetarians.)

“So, how was the party last night?” Carla asked as she served everyone coffee and tea.

The teenagers didn’t answer her question. Eren remembered his night with Krista and didn’t want to bring it up while Mikasa and Jean were still feeling the effects of their sexual endeavours from last night. Basically, they were too embarrassed because they all acted like classic hormonal teens.

“Answer your mother,” Grisha insisted sternly, not looking up from his newspaper.

“Did you guys watch any movies or play any board games?” Carla asked further.

“We watched How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days,” Mikasa lied, something she rarely did. “Right, Jean?”

He nodded his head and lied, “Yeah!”

Eren shook his head subtly as to not make himself look obvious. _Way to make it seem believable guys…_

“Again? You must really love that movie!” Carla replied, unaware of what they were talking about. “You’ve watched it at least ten times over the last couple of months!”

Eren squinted his eyes at Jean once again, this time in absolute horror. _You did what with her how many times?!_

“Eren, did you watch the movie with them?” Grisha asked as he cut into his egg, also unaware of what they were talking about.

Jean nearly did a spit take and forced himself to keep drinking his black coffee to hide his laughter. What Eren and Mikasa’s didn’t know was that watching _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_ was their euphemism for sex, meaning Jean and Mikasa had sex at least ten times over two months. Eren had his own line that he used, a more realistic answer rather than watching a dumb teen movie, though it was something used differently this time around.

“Krista and I went to bed early,” Eren replied, seeing that wasn’t entirely a false statement.

Mikasa kicked him from under the table and raised her eyebrows at him, signing a very stern message of anger to him. The two could communicate with American Sign Language since Mikasa wouldn’t speak English until she was about seven years old. Now, they used it to communicate in public when they wanted to gossip or in worst-case scenarios when Mikasa couldn’t speak at all.

He raised his middle finger to her and carried on with his meal. “She got sick last night and I brought her to my room to sleep.”

“Surely you didn’t sleep in the same bed as her, right?” Grisha asked intently.

“I slept on the couch?” Eren lied.

“Way to make it obvious, red ears,” Jean muttered into his bacon, making Eren cover up his ears to hide his tell.

“Jean, you don’t even live here,” Eren snapped. “Go home.”

 _Nah, I’ll stay and see how this plays out,_ Jean signed under the table to Eren (he also knew sign language.)

“Fine, I slept there too but I was so tired that I didn’t even think of the consequences,” Eren admitted. “And nothing happened either. She was so tired, she just fell asleep the minute she hit my bed! Now you know the dirty details, so can we _please_ just get with breakfast and send Horse-Face home?”

“Not called for, ya maniac!” Jean glared at Eren as he finished his breakfast. “I really should get going though. My mom needs my help with a couple of business deals. Thank you for having me for breakfast, Mr. and Mrs. Yeager.”

“You can just call me Carla, and I’m sorry for Eren’s behaviour,” Carla apologized, glaring at Eren as she mentioned his name. “You’re always welcome here, but do remember to wear a shirt next time.”

“Thank you, Carla, and I’ll remember for next time,” Jean smirked at Eren as he ran back upstairs to gather his things, once again winning another fight with Eren.

Once Jean left and their parents went to work at their hospital, Mikasa started washing the dirty dishes. After a long silence between her and Eren, she spoke up, “Why do you have to be so rude to him all the time?”

“He’s an asshole,” Eren replied bluntly.

“He’s my boyfriend!” She yelled back.

“Well, your boyfriend is an asshole!” Eren screamed.

“Every other guy I dated, you loved them. You couldn’t get enough of them…” Mikasa was crying by this point, but Eren was too riled up to notice her tears. “Why do you hate Jean, who has done nothing but love me for the past three years?”

“You have terrible taste in men!” Eren blurted out in anger.

Mikasa was hurt by that accusation and threw her wet sponge at him, nailing him in the face. “I should just go back to the guy who groped me at thirteen since you think that’s what good fucking taste is!”

This was when Eren noticed what he had said and heard the sadness in her voice as tears rolled down her cheeks. “Mikasa…”

“Don’t even try to reason with me, Eren!” Mikasa ran to the door and slipped into a jacket and sneakers. “I never wanna see you again, you fucking jerk!”

“Mikasa!” Eren yelled, but she was long gone.

Mikasa felt betrayed and so insulted by Eren’s words. She never told him about being molested at thirteen by her high school boyfriend. Even she admitted that it was stupid to date someone five years older than her, but he always bought her flowers and called her beautiful and mature for her age that she convinced herself to give him a shot. She regretted that choice every day.

“Jean?” She asked on her cellphone. “Can you pick me up? I need to get away for a while.”

“I’ll be there in a second!” Jean replied and hung up.

True to his word, she met up with him a few seconds later and dove into his arms and cried into his white button-up shirt. “I fought with Eren and I can’t go home right now. Can I stay with you for a little bit?”

“Of course, you don’t even have to ask,” Jean replied as he helped her inside his home so she could get some needed relaxation before she lost total control.


	6. Alive (Daughtry)

“Eren William Derek Yeager, your sister has been missing for a day and you will not tell us anything?!” Carla yelled as she cornered Eren in the kitchen.

“What do you expect me to do exactly?!” Eren retorted.

“I expect you to tell me where my daughter is!” She shouted in return.

“Go check Jean’s house, I’m sure that fuckwit knows where she is!” Eren yelled back.

Carla knew that Eren was lying and he couldn’t tell her anything to make her believe otherwise. “You’re involved somehow! I can tell by your ears!”

Eren scoffed as he covered his red ears. “What makes you think I had anything to do with this?!”

“Because I know you and how you can be really nasty to people when you want to be!” Carla screamed one final time, shutting Eren up. “If I find out that your sister is dead and you’re the reason she ran off in the first place, you’ll be dropped at the nearest homeless shelter with broken legs. I refuse to have another situation like when you guys were thirteen and she was gone for a week! Find her before a cop does!”

Carla walked off seething in anger. She didn’t mean any threats towards her son, but she loved her daughter like she was her own. She gave her a second chance at being able to raise a daughter when she was told being pregnant a second time would be too risky for her body to handle. Mikasa was her everything and meant so much to her and she didn’t want to lose that happiness in her life.

Eren, furious, finished the dishes that Mikasa had left before running off. He wasn’t mad at Mikasa or his mother though, but mad at himself for upsetting them both so much. She could usually handle her anger but certain things would trigger her memories and she had a harder time controlling her emotions and she spiralled out of control and couldn’t calm down for hours sometimes.

 _I need to get out for a bit and give Mom some space…_ and Eren rang up Krista to see if she wanted to hang out.

Armin and Krista were hanging out when her cell phone went off and she answered it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Krista! It’s Eren,” Eren replied. “I got your number from your parents and wanted to know if you wanted to hang out in a little bit. I know it’s last-minute but I need to blow off some steam and figure you were the right person to help me with that.”

“I’m currently with Armin right now, would it be okay if he tagged along?” Krista asked, and Armin immediately shook his head. She only asked out of respect though.

“Of course! The more the merrier!” That was not the answer Krista wanted to hear. “I’ll meet you guys at the mall entrance in a little bit, okay?”

Krista swallowed her pride and replied, “Of course, we’ll see you soon. Bye!”

She hung up on him and went to put her shoes on. “Guess we’re going to the mall!”

“Don’t make me go, please!” Armin whined.

“You were so excited to hang out with him as yourself, what happened to that?” Krista asked, getting her jacket on.

Armin muttered, “I may have made out with him in Krista Reiss drag while drunk on wine…?”

“You did _what?!_ ” Krista scoffed. “Never mind! We’re just gonna go and pretend that it was me!”

“Well, technically it was you that made out with him but it was me pretending to be you, not the actual you, so really we’re pretending that it was the actual you and not me you that made out with him while drunk on wine,” Armin explained, hastily putting on his shoes and jacket.

“Shut the fuck up and let’s go!” Krista replied as she dragged him to her car.

Krista drove down the streets and parked outside of the mall where the charcoal-haired man said he would be, and there he was, waiting by the fountain. He waved them over and they all exchanged greetings and walked around the mall together.

“Explain why you needed to let off some steam?” Armin asked Eren.

Eren groaned, knowing that they were going to ask that. “Mikasa and I got into a fight over Jean yesterday and she ran off.”

“Let me guess, you think he’s an asshole and she didn’t agree,” Krista said, sipping on the smoothie Eren bought for her. “I can tell, and I disagree with you.”

“Me too,” Armin agreed. “You can’t tell your sister who she can date. That would be like what our government is doing right now with gay people.”

“I’m trying to look out for her,” Eren explained in disbelief that he was being argued with. “He’s an asshole.”

“Eren, I get it,” Krista said, giving him some hope. “You wanna protect her for whatever reason. Sometimes, I wish I had a sibling that cared for me the way you care for Mikasa. But, before I’m the only child begging for an older sister, I’m a woman and I support her right to date whoever she wants.”

Eren knew he wouldn’t win the argument, though he didn’t want to win. He merely wanted to explain how he was feeling to help himself cool off. They were right, though he still reserved his right to protect his sister if anything ever did happen to her. He didn’t bother bringing it up again so they could enjoy their lunch together.

Off in the distance, Eren heard people yelling out for help and then saw Jean running up to him out of the corner of his eye. He was out of breath and could barely speak.

“It’s Mikasa! She’s panicking!” Jean managed to say.

Eren didn’t think twice and ran toward the massive crowd over by one of the booths in the food court with Krista and Armin following behind him. Eren pushed through the crowd and saw his sister on the floor breathing rapidly. She was having a panic attack and he was at fault for it.

“Mikasa?” Eren said, lifting her head so he could look into her eyes. “Mikasa, it’s me! It’s Eren! Focus on me, okay?”

She started to frantically sign something that Eren couldn’t quite make out, and the only word he understood was people. “Give her some space! This isn’t a fucking circus!”

Jean, Armin, and Krista all immediately shoved people away to create a distance between them and Eren.

“Is she okay?” Armin asked.

“She saw something behind me and started freaking out,” Jean explained, tears running down his face. “I didn’t know how to help and then I saw you guys with Eren. I’m sorry, Eren. I’ve never seen her do this before!”

“Just give me some space,” Eren replied, not taking his eyes off of his hyperventilating sister.

Mikasa signed as her breathing slowed a little bit, _I see you._

“Just keep focusing on me, okay?” Eren held her hand. “Squeeze my hand and breathe with me.”

Mikasa mimicked Eren’s breathing with a vice-like grip on his hand until eventually her breathing was back to normal and she sat up to hug him. She cried into his pant leg, whispering apologies to Eren. He didn’t want her to apologize because he was at fault.

“Do you need help standing up?” He asked.

“Yeah, just back onto the booth is fine,” Mikasa replied and sat back in her seat with Eren’s help. “I’m sorry I fought with you, but you’ve just been so rude to him and I can’t even tell you why he’s been so great for me. And when I brought up that guy from when I was thirteen, I was just so upset that I couldn’t keep it a secret from you any longer…”

Eren hugged his sister close and replied, “Do you remember when I got suspended for a week and you had to stay home with me?”

“Of course, I had to miss a math test,” Mikasa replied. “Why are you bringing that up?”

“It was because I beat that guy up,” Eren explained. “I was mad at you that day and I read your diary. When I saw what you had written down and because you wrote down his high school in previous entries, I ran over there and saw him hitting on someone who didn’t look that much older than you. I grabbed him and slammed him against the locker and called him a rapist because he thought hurting my sister was okay. He was mistaken. When the schools agreed that I would be suspended, I told them he had groped you and had your diary as proof that it happened, but they didn’t believe me. That’s why you stayed home with me because I almost killed the guy who thought it was okay to touch you like that.”

“Well, I never thought I would say this, but thanks for reading my diary,” Mikasa replied. “I… I saw him over by the Taiwanese food place and… and I froze. I hadn’t seen him in five years, and I couldn’t even run away. I was so scared of what he would do to me…”

“It’s okay,” Eren hugged her tighter as he felt his shoulder become wet. “He won’t hurt you now. I made sure of it, okay? Now, Mom is worried about you and you need to get home before she rips someone’s head off.”

“Okay…” She replied and stood up.

Mikasa ran to Jean and wrapped him in a bear hug. “I’m sorry, I just saw this person but I don’t exactly know how to explain it and I couldn’t handle seeing them again.”

“There’s no need to apologize,” Jean replied. “I need to talk to Eren about something, so Krista and Armin can walk with you until I’m done, okay? I won’t be far behind you guys.”

Mikasa nodded her head and ran up to Armin, clinging off of him like she used to do to Eren. There was something familiar about Armin but she couldn’t quite grasp what it could have possibly meant. She just felt a warm and inviting aura surrounding him and knew she had met him somewhere before that moment.

“Hey, Eren,” Jean said, hanging back to walk beside the shorter ravenette. “I know we haven’t exactly gotten along these past three years or so, but I wanted to say thank you for helping me. You really saved us back there.”

“She’s my sister and she’s been through so much. I couldn’t just stand by and watch her panic like that,” Eren replied. “Look, about me not liking you. Don’t tell anyone I said this but you’re actually pretty cool. It’s just… Mikasa had a really shitty boyfriend before you showed up, like a _really_ shitty boyfriend.”

“How shitty?” Jean asked.

“That’s something you should either ask her or wait for her to tell you about,” Eren continued, “I was just worried that you would hurt her too. Clearly, I was wrong.”

“I should apologize for what happened at breakfast yesterday,” Jean stated as he stared at the ground. “I shouldn’t have antagonized you like that, knowing what I know now. I need to explain something though, about her saying we watched that girl movie.”

“I already know what it means when you say you watched _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days,_ ” Eren insisted.

“It’s not that, it’s about you getting mad at me when she says we watched the movie,” Jean explained. “Mikasa wouldn’t let me touch her for the first year we were together. Like, I couldn’t even hold her hand let alone fuck her. It was only this past new years that she said she wanted to. Sorry, this is probably a lot of information you didn’t wanna know about, but when you said she had a shitty boyfriend, I think I know what happened to her, and it makes me wanna beat the fuck out of that guy.”

“I already did that and I got suspended for it,” Eren replied, patting Jean on the shoulder. “You’ve helped her in ways that not a lot of people could. She opened up to people a lot more after she started dating you. And for her sake, I want us to be friends.”

Jean was moved by how vulnerable Eren was in front of him, and decided to turn a new leaf. “That would be great, and you’re pretty cool too when you don’t call me Horse-Face.”

“That’s your nickname though!” Eren laughed, doing finger guns at Jean.

Jean swatted the back of Eren’s head and the two shared another laugh before catching up with the others. Mikasa never left Armin’s side once and they all went outside to where Krista and Eren had parked their vehicles.

“Sorry our hangout didn’t go as planned,” Eren apologized. “I gotta get her home. We should all definitely hang out again sometime.”

Eren, Mikasa, and Jean parted ways from the two blondes and piled into Eren’s car and drove toward his and Mikasa’s house.

“Were you getting vibes from that blonde guy with Krista?” Mikasa asked as she laid her head on Jean’s lap.

“I was when I went gift shopping for you,” Eren replied. “Did he seem familiar?”

“Who, Armin?” Jean interjected. “I go to school with him, maybe you guys saw him there on one of the days you guys came to pick me up?”

“Maybe, but it’s like I’ve met him pretty recently,” Eren stated as he turned into his driveway. “It’s like the same feeling I get when I’m with Krista, y’ know?”

“I get that too,” Mikasa sat up and exited the car with everyone else.

A worried look settled on her face as she looked at the house. “Mom won’t kill me, will she?”

“She’ll have to get through me if she tries,” Eren insisted as he and Jean walked Mikasa to the door.

Mikasa opened the door and walked in first. Her mother immediately appeared at the front door and lunged to hug her as she cried into her shoulder about how much she had worried about her disappearing. Her father pulled both Eren and Jean into the living room as Mikasa walked beside her mother.

“Where did you go? We couldn’t even get a hold of you, sweetie!” Carla asked, tears still flooding her vision. “I thought I had lost you for good!”

“Oh, so you won’t break my legs and send me to a homeless shelter?” Eren said sarcastically, earning a glare from his mother.

“I need to tell you and Dad and Jean something, Mom,” Mikasa cried as she took her mother’s hand and felt a need to fully express what had all happened, something she hadn’t felt in years. “Something important…”


	7. No Time

Neither Armin nor Krista had spoken to Eren in the two weeks following the events at the mall. Jean had decided to keep in contact with them both as a means to get to know them better, and soon they all started hanging out at lunch together with Jean’s friend, Marco Bodt, with this Monday being no exception.

“Pull out your dice and let’s get started,” Marco said as he checked his notes from behind his partition.

He and Armin shared a love of the roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons, and wanted to introduce Jean and Krista to the game so Marco set up a practice session to see if they would be interested in an actual campaign to take place over a few months.

“Okay, let’s just start with greetings for now and we can get into specifics as the game goes on,” Marco explained. “Hello, I am your dungeon master, Marco, but you may refer to me as your freckled sky daddy or your best friend ever when you’re all getting slaughtered and need me to go easy on you. Your turn, Armin.”

Armin laughed at Marco’s peculiar introduction and introduced himself as the human paladin. Krista was a—specifically stated by her―lesbian tiefling bard, and Jean was a wood elf ranger. The three made quite the party and as Marco described the scenery of the tavern they all walked into, Krista and Jean hung off of Marco’s every word.

“Hello, young travellers,” Marco said, doing an impression of a sickly old man. “Are all three of you together?”

Krista was finding it hard to stifle her laughter as Jean spoke up, “I’m on my own. I don’t know about these two.”

“Agreed. I have never met these two before,” Armin added. “And the one that’s laughing is freaking me out a little.”

“I don’t have any space up at the bar, but I do have a table of three if you all wouldn’t mind sharing it,” Marco offered, placing a miniature table in front of them.

“I’m open to sharing,” Krista said, calming her laughter down.

“I guess I’ll share,” Armin said, and Jean agreed with him.

Just as they were all about to sit down, Jean’s phone buzzed in his back pocket. He flipped it open to find a text from Mikasa sitting in his notifications.

 _I’m outside your school. Can you meet me out front?_ The text said, and Jean put on his jacket.

“I’ll be right back. _Don’t_ play without me.” Jean was into the game more than he wanted to admit.

Jean met with Mikasa just outside the main entrance and wrapped her in a bear hug. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Mikasa pulled away. He still held her waist though. He hadn’t seen her since she told him about being molested at thirteen and she had said she needed some space to process it all over again. They still spoke on the phone, but it wasn’t the same as being physically there for her.

“Why aren’t you at home?” Jean asked, aware of the fact that she was supposed to be on break until May.

“Eren said it was okay, don’t worry,” Mikasa insisted, hugging her boyfriend again. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Jean hugged her tightly, not wanting to separate. “Wanna hang out today?”

“Eren says you would have to come over after school if you wanted to hang out. I’m on a strict set of rules after running away,” Mikasa explained. “It probably won’t be for long and Eren can be pretty relaxed when it comes to stuff like that so I’ll likely be able to get away with some stuff, but this he’s certain about sticking to. He also says that if you want to sleep over, you sleep on the couch in his room.”

“For someone who can be chill with rules, he’s very strict about sleeping situations,” Jean kissed Mikasa’s forehead and smiled down at her. “It’ll be worth it if I get to see you.”

Mikasa kissed Jean one last time. “I should go before Eren knows I skipped.”

“I’ll talk to you after school,” Jean hugged her one last time and kissed her sweet lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Mikasa pulled away from Jean and waved goodbye.

She went back to her car and drove home, feeling a little lighter than she did when she woke up that morning. She hated taking time off of school but her parents, Eren, and her therapist all insisted that she take some time to better herself without any distractions. What she hated most was when she was allowed to see Jean.

Her parents were now convinced that he wasn’t to be trusted because he didn’t say anything to them about letting her stay with him. She and Jean both knew that he did the right thing, and deep down Eren and Grisha knew that too. Carla wouldn’t be easily swayed though and strictly said that she wasn’t allowed to see him until school was over, and Mikasa knew better than to argue with her mom after what she did.

Although, she could always just sneak out in the middle of the night…

Mikasa arrived back at home a few minutes before her time was up and walked inside, seeing Eren on the couch watching a movie. “ _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_?”

“It’s actually a good movie,” Eren replied. “Watch with me?”

“I need to finish up my math homework, but I’ll come back down after I’m done,” Mikasa promised as she ran up the stairs to her room.

The walls were a dreary grey colour to match with her black furniture. She openly identified as goth and often considered herself ‘always ready for a funeral’ with enough heavy metal band shirts to make any fan of the genre jealous. Her parents never understood, but they didn’t bother with trying to change her and she always appreciated that about them.

Mikasa sat at her desk and opened her textbook to tackle her homework. She would hear Eren laugh in the background and it would make her smile. It even prompted her to finish her work faster so that she could spend time with him before it got too late in the day.

After noticing that she hadn’t been keeping track of her desk calendar for the last couple of weeks, Mikasa went to scratch out the previous days leading up to the present one only to see a red circle on the fifteenth of April and felt her heart sink deep into her chest.

All she could think at that moment was, _I’m late…_

**. . .**

Armin was helping Krista with her English homework when the landline in her room rang, and Krista put whoever it was onto the speaker. “Who is this?”

“It’s Eren!” The voice replied.

“Hey, dude! How’s Mikasa doing?” Krista asked.

“I’m not sure. She went to see Jean at your school today, but when she got home, she hasn’t left her room once,” Eren explained. “I went up there an hour ago and I heard her crying, but she wouldn’t talk to me.”

“Could something have happened between her and Jean?” Armin asked. “Oh yeah, I’m here too, by the way.”

“I told Jean to come over and cheer her up but he went up there and hasn’t come back down,” Eren explained further. “I think maybe mom’s rules are affecting her, considering our mom thinks that Jean is the embodiment of Satan now.”

“Talk to your mom and try to convince her that the rules are affecting her mental health,” Armin suggested.

Eren smiled. Thanks, guys.”

“No problem,” Krista replied. “Anything else you wanna talk about?”

“My mom needs you to come over after school on Monday next week for wedding plans,” Eren replied, seeing Jean saunter down the stairs. “I’ll text you the details. I need to go. Bye!”

Eren hung up before Krista could reply and walked up to Jean. “How is she?”

“She’s really upset about not being in school,” Jean lied, not knowing what else to say. “I gotta help my mom now, but I’ll talk to you later…”

Jean nearly stumbled down the steps as he walked home in a daze of confusion. Mikasa cried the whole time he was over there. Seeing that he got a text to meet her at her house, Jean thought maybe she wanted to have fun and watch movies together. It was something more surprising and far more sinister as he mumbled the word late over and over.

Back at Krista’s, Armin was asking questions like a bat out of hell. “Do you need me to dress up like you? I would have to check my schedule but I’m sure we could make it work‒”

“Calm down, Armin,” Krista giggled, seeing how his eyes lit up when Eren mentioned having to meet up again.

“Sorry, I’m just excited,” Armin blushed as he looked away. “I don’t know why I’m so excited.”

“Liar! You like him!” Krista yelled.

“A little louder, I don’t think Eren heard you,” Armin said in a hushed whisper. “I didn’t mean for it to happen but when I started spending more time with him and when we kissed in his room, I couldn’t suffocate my feelings anymore.”

“Armin, don’t apologize,” Krista insisted. “I’m glad that you’re opening up and being true to yourself. Now, let’s work out the details for next week…”


	8. Accidents Happen

The day of the wedding planning had finally arrived and Armin was nervous. It wasn’t because he was playing Krista, it was because he was watching Krista try on wedding dresses. He didn’t have Eren there to comfort him either because he couldn’t be there for the dress picking, given that it was considered bad luck for the groom to see the dress before the wedding.

“Oh, Krista, you look so beautiful,” Mrs. Reiss gushed as she took pictures of her daughter.

The only reason Krista was trying on dresses instead of Armin was that she figured that the wedding would be cancelled because Eren had fallen in love with Armin by that point so she could run away with Ymir to college. Sadly though, that meant she had to suffer through wearing white wedding dresses, though she adored the compliments she received the whole time.

“I don’t know, the skirt length bothers me,” Krista replied, playing with the ballgown.

“That’s the beautiful thing about wearing heels, darling,” her mother’s camera flashed as she looked in awe of her beautiful daughter. “They can make you taller.”

“Mom, I already told you, I’m wearing sneakers,” Krista explained. “White sneakers.”

“I see it as a good thing,” Carla spoke up. “We can hem the dress to be higher so that way you won’t trip, and since all eyes will be on you anyway, you might as well just wear sneakers to stand out even more.”

“Also functionality,” Armin spoke up. “You can dance the night away without breaking a heel!”

“Thank you, Armin,” Krista smiled. “I’m gonna try on the last dress.”

Krista stepped behind the partition, leaving Armin to have to deal with two arguing mothers. Without Eren, this was almost unbearable for him to sit through and decided to blow off some steam and get a drink.

“I still can’t believe I have to be here,” he muttered to himself as he grabbed a glass and filled it with orange juice from the refrigerator.

He closed the fridge door and saw Mikasa at the sink as pale as a ghost and vomiting whatever she had for lunch. Armin reacted immediately and pulled her hair out of her face after setting his glass onto the counter.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine,” Mikasa replied. “Just bad sushi.”

Armin believed her statement and stood with her as she puked into the sink. “I think this is the second time I’ve seen someone puke into the sink.”

“It’s definitely not my first time,” Mikasa said she washed her mouth out with water. “The label was in Chinese and I can’t read Chinese so I didn’t realize that it was expired.”

Armin furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “Wait, you’re not Chinese?”

Mikasa laughed, something she hadn’t done all day. She liked how Armin could make her smile even in her darker moments. “I’m Japanese.”

Embarrassed, Armin replied, “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Mikasa chuckled. “At least you’re not rattling your silverware together and yelling ching chong at me.”

“People did that to you?” Armin was even more confused.

“Yeah. Mostly it was just people telling me to go back to China, or they would break my chopsticks, but that’s the struggles of being the only Asian kid at school, Mikasa explained. “I’m not even full Asian, my father was white.”

Armin started to remember what kids at his past schools would do to the African American kids. They would throw rocks at them and call them derogatory terms. The adults would just laugh it off as kids being kids, and sometimes they even started the racist name-calling. The schools never did anything about it though, because schools never actually cared enough to stop bullying, let alone racism.

“The outright bullying had stopped in high school, thankfully, but now girls give me dirty looks and call me a chink when I walk past them,” Mikasa continued. “Some days it hurts, others I don’t give a shit about it. But, at the end of the day, I love myself and that’s all that matters to me.”

Armin could see her smile fade as she turned around and vomited into the sink once again. He offered her his juice but she declined, explaining to him that she would only puke it back up twenty minutes later. He let her go back up to her room so she could rest and Armin walked back to the living room with his glass of orange juice.

“How are we doing?” Armin yelled to Krista.

“I think this is the one!” She replied, stepping out from behind the partition.

Her dress was a mermaid cut skirt with bell sleeves and lace embellishments in an off-white colour. The plunging neckline did wonders for her self-confidence as she twirled around to show off her body. Armin almost cried at the sight of her while the mothers were in tears.

“You look beautiful, darling,” Krista’s mom swarmed her to take pictures.

“This is definitely the one,” Mrs. Yeager agreed.

“I can’t wait to see you walk down the aisle wearing that,” Armin half-heartedly stated. He and Krista both knew better than to get attached to a dress she wasn’t planning on wearing.

“I’ll have my tailor make the alterations and we’ll store it at your house, Mrs. Reiss,” Carla said as she packed up the rest of the dresses.

“I’ll help you,” Mrs. Reiss stood up and helped her pack everything up.

Soon, Krista was dressed in her street clothes and the two of them decided to see if Mikasa was up for walking around, but she declined and explained it was because of homework. This only made Armin more suspicious but he didn’t press the issue any further and the two blondes walked around the property a little bit.

They noticed Eren sitting on the grass with his nose in a book, and Armin’s heart skipped a beat. Krista noticed this and shoved Armin towards him and took off to get them some alone time. She loved playing matchmaker, despite Armin’s protests.

“Hey,” Armin said, laying down beside the ravenette. “Whatcha reading?”

“Oh, I’m just reading A Clockwork Orange,” Eren replied, shutting his book. “Have you read it?”

“I have, and I’ve also watched the movie too,” Armin replied. “It’s a favourite of mine. The movie, I mean.”

Eren smiled, feeling that welcoming aura once again, and rather than question it, he decided to embrace it. “I’ve never watched the movie.”

“We should watch it together sometime,” Armin suggested, his heart beating faster.

“I agree,” Eren replied and the two engaged in a conversation together that lasted the rest of the afternoon.

Meanwhile, Mikasa was huddled against Jean as she cried into his shoulder. They were laying in her bed together and he had his arms wrapped around her as he sat in a daze. He could barely speak, not after what Mikasa had told him. He didn’t want to believe it, but when he asked for proof, it came back positive.

“I’m sorry!” Mikasa cried and clutched Jean’s shirt. “I’m so sorry, Jean!”

Jean looked down at his girlfriend and hugged her tighter. “We’ll make it through this together, okay?”

He felt Mikasa nod her head as his vision transitioned from her silky black hair to the positive pregnancy test in his right hand. The little screen read _Positive: 3+ weeks_ and the reality of their situation had set in for Mikasa. She couldn’t do anything about it either, which bothered her the most.

Jean, however, was still optimistic and looked into Mikasa’s piercing black eyes. “Whatever it takes, I know we can make it through…”


	9. Inside The Pocket Of Your Ripped Jeans...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SUICIDE WARNING!!!!

Armin was in the kitchen the next morning making himself some breakfast before he went off to school. It was a pain to have to get up early every morning to catch the bus, but he figured it was better than walking to school without having something to eat. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, after all.

“Want some eggs, grandpa?” Armin asked as he rummaged around his fridge for juice.

“No thank you, son. I already had my weekly treat last night,” his grandfather replied as he ate his garden salad.

Armin had to make adjustments to his diet after his grandfather was diagnosed with leukemia when he was thirteen. It was agony for Armin to come home from school one day and see his grandfather lifeless on the floor and having to call an ambulance to take them to the hospital. Armin got there quick enough and the doctors saved his life, but getting the diagnosis completely broke Armin. From there, it was millions of doctor’s appointments and a total lifestyle change as well as tons of radiation, all of which they had to pay for.

Armin knew that if Grandpa had it his way, he wouldn’t be going through radiation and would be living his life to the fullest until he passed away peacefully in his sleep. The only reason he said yes was that Armin was too young to have to fend for himself. He didn’t know how to do his taxes (and frankly still doesn’t know) and being thrown into the foster care system would have ruined his life.

So, the two worked together to help each other get through the day. Some were worse than others while some left both the men feeling like they were on top of the world! They had each other, and that was enough to make everything they were going through worth it in the end.

“Come on, live a little!” Armin insisted, sliding a plate of eggs and bacon towards his grandfather. “You earned it.”

His grandfather smiled and accepted the offering. He could not have wished for a better grandson. “Eat up or else you’ll miss the bus.”

“Well I wouldn’t have to worry if you let me drive your car,” Armin had been trying to let his grandfather use the car ever since he got his license, but he wouldn’t budge on it.

Surprisingly though, his grandfather nodded his head as he ate the last of his breakfast. “I guess you can use it for today.”

“Really? Thank you!” Armin yelled as he ran off to get dressed.

His grandfather smiled as he put his plate into the sink along with the frying pan Armin used to make his breakfast. He loved seeing that kid smile and would do anything to make that happen. He clutched the DNR slip in his pocket though and his smile faded, but not for long as Armin ran back into the kitchen.

“No, I’ll do that. I have the time,” Armin insisted as he politely sent his grandfather away. “You sit.”

Grandpa listened to his request and sat down on the couch as Armin washed up the dirty dishes. “Krista needs me to go to her place after school so I won’t be home until later today, is that okay?”

“Just don’t crash my car,” his grandfather replied as he laid on the couch. “Also don’t have sex in it either.”

“Grandpa!” Armin blushed and turned back to the dishes. “I’m not a spaz, y’ know…”

They shared a laugh as Armin finished up the dishes and grabbed his bag and laced up his tennis shoes. “I’ll see you later tonight, okay?”

“Why don’t you spend the night at Krista’s tonight?” his grandfather had suggested.

“Are you sure?” Armin was confused at the amount of power he was being given for that day. “What if you need me for something?”

“Then I can call your school or your friend and ask for you to come home, now get to school, and live a little,” his grandfather practically shoved him out the door. “Have a good day!”

“I love you!” Armin yelled as he got into his grandfather’s car and began to drive away.

Clutching the DNR slip in his pocket once again, he waved his grandson off and softly replied, “I love you too, my boy.”

**. . .**

The rest of Armin’s day flew by with ease as he and Krista packed up their belongings from their lockers and went to Armin’s designated ride. He had to go home because he forgot to pack clothes for that night to sleep in and the next day so he didn’t have to go back home early in the morning to get changed for school. He was so caught up in the thrill of getting to drive that he didn’t grab an overnight bag.

“Armin, speed the fuck up, I wanna get there before my arranged wedding,” Krista groaned as she looked at his speedometer. “You’re going ten under the limit!”

Armin liked to think of himself as a cautious and safe driver, even if that meant driving slow sometimes. He just didn’t want to mess up and have his driving privileges revoked because he was reckless on the road.

“This isn’t my vehicle,” Armin said as he turned onto his street. “Look, we’re almost at my house and I didn’t crash.”

“The bus takes less time to get here,” Krista whined as they pulled into his driveway. “When you get back out here, I’m driving!”

“Fine, just don’t go twenty above the limit like you usually do,” Armin pleaded as he walked inside his home.

His grandfather was in the kitchen washing up dishes when Armin made his way to his room and yelled as he went into the hallway, “How was your day?”

“It was good!” his grandfather yelled back.

Armin packed a duffle bag with some clothes, his toothbrush, and a couple of films to watch and walked back to the kitchen and hugged his grandfather from behind. “I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you!”

His grandfather didn’t respond other than smiling and sending his grandson on his way, all while thinking about that DNR slip. It was a request he made after the diagnosis six years ago, stating that if anything were to happen, that was not to be brought back to life under any circumstances. He knew he wouldn’t live forever, and prevented himself from living any longer than his personal death date. He never told Armin about it because he would get the same guilt trip that happened the last time he fainted: that he was being selfish.

 _It’s for both your good as well as mine, my boy…_ He sighed as he continued to wash the dishes.

Armin sat in the passenger’s seat in utter terror as Krista ripped down the street back to her house. While Armin, a careful driver who drove under the speed limit most days, Krista always went at least fifteen miles per hour about the speeding limit and blew a lot of stop signs, both of which are illegal. She liked to have fun while driving and the rush it gave her when she broke the law. She would always look out for herself to balance out her NASCAR driver habits.

“Don’t you love the feeling of your wind blowing through your hair?!” Krista yelled as she pulled into her driveway.

“Not when you’re blowing red lights!” Armin replied, rushing to get out of the car. “I’m never letting you drive again, ya fuckin’ speed demon.”

“What! I got the need for speed!” She laughed as they ran to her front door.

Krista and Armin walked inside and ran up the stairs to her room where they set their bags down onto the floor and jumped onto Krista’s California king-sized bed. Armin wished he could live in a place like Krista’s house. Enough room to do whatever you pleased and enough space on the property to run around. But as much as he loved the thought of living in a mansion, he could never wait to go back to his small, one-story, home. He felt that the people made the place home, not the things you put into it.

“What’s on the agenda first?” Krista asked as she pulled out a huge stash of teen magazines. “Makeup looks, horoscopes, or quizzes?”

“Quiz me, baby,” Armin replied with an exaggerated smirk that made Krista laugh.

The two spent countless hours reading through the possibly hundreds of magazines Krista had at her disposal. She would never tell anyone but she had a soft spot for them. She often called it a guilty pleasure to Armin.

“What does your taste in music say about your future husband?” Krista read off one of the title segments in the magazine. “Or wife.”

“You never know what lesbian could be reading these,” Armin chuckled. “I like a lot of what Fall Out Boy puts out, and Panic! At The Disco as well. Ooh, also that song _Mr. Brightside_ song!”

“Okay, so if you like a lot of alternative pop music, your future husband will be trendy and be able to change with the times,” Krista said. “His career would most likely be a musician!”

“I wonder if Eren plays any instruments,” Armin smiled, imagining Eren Yeager playing guitar around a campfire. “He would be so much sexier if he did.”

“Okay, horny pants! My turn,” Krista laughed, making Armin blush. “Alright, if you’re into punk music, your future husband will have dealt with his fair share of fights but will always be honest and protect you no matter what. His career will most likely be either lawyer or a hardened criminal.”

“I would not put criminal intent past Ymir,” Armin laughed as Krista hit him with a pillow. “What’s the weirdest option?”

“They have a section for Ska music,” Krista scoffed as she read the paragraph under the subtext. “Ska music is something you can thrash around to and have a good time with your buddies. It speaks to the anger in your soul, much like your future husband can do as he can always make you feel better after a long day. He will most likely be a dance choreographer.”

“So my future husband can read minds?” Armin inquired aloud.

“You like Ska music?” Krista was shocked at the words that came out of his mouth.

“We’re not getting into that tonight,” Armin insisted with a giggle.

The two exchanged laughter and continued to read through her magazines until neither one of them could bear to look at words any longer. They decided to throw a movie on and order some takeout, which arrived at the door thirty minutes later.

As the two ate slices of pizza and chicken wings, Armin couldn’t help but stare at the phone on Krista’s nightstand. He hadn’t gotten any calls from his grandfather and was starting to worry that something had happened to him and his thoughts only got more depressing.

Krista noticed that her friend was zoning out and nudged him with her elbow. “You good over there?”

“Yeah, uh, I’m just waiting for Grandpa to call,” Armin replied, still staring at the phone. “He should have called by now.”

“Have you ever thought that maybe he trusts you to make your own decisions?” Krista suggested optimistically. “You’re seventeen now, you’re going to university next year. Maybe he figured it’s time to loosen the reins a little.”

“Or let go of them entirely,” Armin replied. “He practically forced me to come over here tonight…”

“You can call him if you want,” Krista said, pausing the movie.

Armin nodded and walked to the phone. He called his home number and waited for an answer, but only heard the voicemail message. He hung up and called three more times, only getting the same automated message every time. Eventually, Armin gave up.

“He isn’t answering,” Armin was definitely worried. “I should go check on him. Come with me?”

Krista knew that she couldn’t talk him out of it and followed Armin back downstairs and they put their shoes and jackets on. She was extremely aware of the close relationship Armin had with his grandfather. When Armin’s mother died, his father dropped him off at his grandfather’s and begged for him to his son. Armin was only two years old at the time and was sent to live with his estranged grandfather. She still doesn’t know why his dad did what he did, not even Armin knows why.

Armin drove faster than he usually did as he drove back to his house and pulled into his driveway. Armin jumped out of the car and ran inside with Krista following behind him. The house was eerily quiet.

“Armin, maybe he’s just asleep,” Krista said, trying to ease the tension.

“No, something is definitely wrong here. He always answers, even when I wake him up by mistake…”

Armin walked cautiously to the hallway and saw that the bedroom light was on and the door was slightly ajar. Praying for the best-case scenario, Armin quietly and slowly opened the door and whispered to his grandfather. With no reply, he fully opened the door only to see grandpa’s limp body on his bed with foam oozing from his mouth and a bottle of high strength painkillers in his hand.

Armin hyperventilated as he ran to his grandfather’s side and started to shake him to wake him up and with the amount of air he was losing, Armin fell to the floor in a daze and blacking out just as he heard Krista calling 911.


	10. If I Hold Out, I Know I Can Make It Through

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, suicide warning!!

“How’s Armin?” Eren asked as he searched through his library for something to read.

Eren was on a phone call with Krista a couple of days after she told him the news about the death in Armin’s family. The blonde male wasn’t answering any of the ravenette’s calls nor anyone else’s for that matter and thought maybe Krista knew what was going on because they were such close friends.

“He’s not handling it well at all,” Krista couldn’t sugarcoat it, not this time. “He doesn’t leave the guest room for anything, he doesn’t eat, he doesn’t talk, he just lays there on the verge of tears all the time. The upside is that the school is letting him take a few weeks off to deal with any arrangements…”

Eren didn’t realize it was that serious. He had seen this all before around the time Mikasa had run away for a week and came back scarred for life. She barely left her room and lost a lot of weight because she stopped eating.

“Have you tried talking to him at all?” Eren asked. “It’s all about trying to get through to him before he gets any ideas.”

“I have but…” Krista paused, not knowing how to say the next part of her sentence.

Eren became intrigued. “But what?”

“He won’t even look at me since that night in the hospital,” Krista explained. “I screwed up really badly and now I think he blames me for it…”

“May I ask what you could have done to make him so mad at you?” Eren inquired, eager to know the gossip.

Krista took a moment to breathe before getting into the depressing details of how that night ended for Armin’s grandfather but also her friendship with Armin…

_“Armin Arlert?” A man in a white coat asked everyone in the waiting room._

_Armin and Krista perked up. They had been waiting there for almost three hours with no answers from anywhere. Krista’s mom was worried sick about them and would call every few minutes to check on them, but Krista never answered her phone. She was too worried about Armin to deal with her mom._

_“That’s me,” Armin replied, running up to the doctor. “Is my grandfather okay?”_

_“Come with me,” the doctor insisted._

_Armin gestured for Krista to come over and they followed the man in the lab coat to an empty part of the hospital. He carried a clipboard with notes about Armin’s grandfather written down on it, but it wasn’t good news he had to tell them._

_“There isn’t any way to say this,” the doctor huffed in defeat. “But we couldn’t save him. He died of a drug overdose.”_

_Armin was appalled by the man’s answer. “What do you mean? You’re doctors!”_

_“We legally couldn’t do anything,” the doctor explained, handing Armin a folded up piece of paper. “Your grandfather signed a DNR slip six years ago and if we tried to save him…”_

_Armin was confused by his answer as he unfolded the paper and looked at its contents. “Do not resuscitate?”_

_“Basically, he said that if he died, we were not allowed to save him,” the doctor was calm, but that didn’t help ease Armin’s emotions. “He left this for you too.”_

_Armin was handed a letter with a fancy wax seal as the doctor walked away to help other patients. It was addressed to him, but Armin was reluctant to open it._

_“Maybe you should read it?” Krista suggested._

_“I don’t know how I feel about reading my grandfather’s suicide note,” Armin replied, tears in his eyes._

_“These are his last words, Armin,” Krista insisted. “Don’t let them go to waste.”_

_Armin nodded and reluctantly opened the letter, seeing beautifully handwritten letters in cursive, forming the most tragic sentences Armin had ever read in his life. He wanted to throw it away but he continued reading it. He felt that his grandfather made a stupid decision by letting himself die right before Armin had to leave for school. But he couldn’t make himself stop reading._

_Armin fell into Krista’s arms and begged her to call her mom, and soon they waited for their ride in silence, minus Armin’s whimpers of regret…_

Eren was now even more worried than he was before the conversation had started. “Is there anything I can do?”

“I’m not sure, but you’re welcome to try,” Krista said. “Come over tomorrow afternoon and see if you can get through to him. Bring the others if you want to, I’m sure Armin could use some friends by his side right now.”

“I’ll call everyone else and let you know…”

Eren hung up and messaged the group chat they all shared on MSN Messenger, minus Mikasa since he could just walk to her room and ask her in person. It didn’t take much convincing for Jean and Marco to agree to meet at Krista’s the next day, but he knew Mikasa wouldn’t budge unless he didn’t stop bothering her about it.

Eren made his way to Mikasa’s room and knocked on the door. “Can I come in?”

“Go away!” She yelled back.

Eren groaned and carried on. “Come on! You haven’t left your room in days! You need some fresh air!”

“Fuck off!” Mikasa yelled back.

“Fuck you! I’m coming in!” And Eren barged into her room to see her crying over a scrapbook.

She was smiling at an old picture of herself, back when she had braces and dorky glasses a stereotypical nerd in teen movies would wear. “I’m sorry, I just miss the days before everything got so complicated…”

Eren sat beside her and looked through the pictures with her, but flipped to the beginning because he wanted to see a specific photo of her. It was a sonogram of Mikasa in her mother’s womb just before she was born, with the next picture being her mom holding her just after giving birth.

“You look so much like her,” Eren said softly, cuddling Mikasa as they looked at her scrapbook.

“That’s because we’re both Asian,” Mikasa whispered back.

“I know,” Eren smiled. “Look, we adopted you on that day.”

Eren was pointing to a photo of a young Mikasa standing outside of their home holding adoption papers. Eren was standing next to her with his arms wrapped around her shoulders, much like what he was doing at that moment. She was only five years old in that picture.

“What was it you said about fresh air?” Mikasa asked, getting up to stretch before immediately throwing on a loose-fitting babydoll dress.

Eren had covered his eyes while she changed her clothing and replied, “Krista wants us to see if we can help Armin leave his room.”

“He’s staying at Krista’s, right?” Mikasa inquired as she put her shoes on. “We can always just go now.”

Eren was about to reply to his sister but his cell phone started buzzing in his pocket and answered with a, “Hello? Krista?”

Krista was breathing abnormally fast and Eren heard the rattling of a locked door. “It’s Armin! He locked the door and one of my dad’s Advil bottles is missing!”

“We’ll be right over!” Eren replied and turned to his sister. “Talk to Krista for me! I have to call Jean and Marco! Armin is gonna try to kill himself!”

Mikasa took the phone from Eren and started talking to Krista as they ran to his car. He called Jean and Marco and told them to both get to Krista’s as soon as possible and explained the details to make them run like the wind. Eren nearly got himself into a car accident on the way there for going forty above the limit but managed not to crash into any people or stop signs.

Eren and Mikasa pulled into Krista’s driveway and ran into her home and upstairs. Mikasa was on the phone with her the whole time and hung up once they got to the room Krista was standing in front of. Jean was busy trying to break down the door while Marco was comforting Krista.

“What’s the hold-up?!” Eren yelled as he kicked at the door to try and break it open.

“I can’t make it budge,” Jean replied. “He locked the door and took the key in there with him. He might even be blocking the door for all we know!”

“How strong are those pills?” Mikasa asked, dialling the emergency number.

“Like, really strong. They’re for severe migraines,” Krista cried. “Get him out of there!”

Despite using all of their strength, Eren and Jean couldn’t open the door. But Mikasa handed the phone to Marco, stepped up to the door, and shoved Eren and Jean out of the way. Jean was about to protest, fearing the life of his child was on the line, but he didn’t get the chance to as she roundhouse kicked the door and it swung open with ease.

“You loosened it for me,” Mikasa said as she ran into the room. “Armin!”

Armin was on the bed, vomiting on himself and fading in and out of reality. He heard the door open but only barely and saw blurred figures standing about him, calling his name. He faded out again and vomited, feeling it block his airway. He was never more scared in his entire life.

**. . .**

Armin woke up to a sea of white. He figured that maybe he had succeeded and he was wherever the demons would go on their breaks from torturing humanity. He groaned as he looked around and saw that he had survived and he was just in a hospital room. His friends were by his side, all sleeping in whatever furniture they could find as well on top of each other if they didn’t have chairs to sit in.

Armin sat up as he rubbed his temples. He saw the cables on his arm and saw the heart monitor beside his bed along with a bag of IV fluid. As much as he wanted to die, seeing his heartbeat on the screen was rather comforting to him.

Eren was the first to wake up and notice that Armin hadn’t passed away. “Hey.”

Armin smiled back at him. “Hi. You’re all here…”

“Why wouldn’t we be?” Eren replied. “We’re your friends.”

Tears began to pour out of Armin’s eyes as he desperately wiped them away. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble! I should have just‒”

“Armin, don’t even finish that sentence!’ Eren hushed him and grabbed his hands. “Killing yourself is never the answer!”

Krista stirred a little beside Eren and sat up. “Is he awake?”

“Yeah, wanna talk to him?” Eren asked.

“I’ll do more than talk to him,” Krista yawned, standing up and switching places with Eren. “Armin, to put it lightly, so many lives would be ruined if you killed yourself.”

“But Krista…” Armin hugged his knees to his chest and cried into them. “My whole life has been a lie. Grandpa lied to me about who my parents were. My mom, she wasn’t a doctor who died in a car crash, she was a high school dropout addicted to heroin who was raped and got pregnant by her drug dealer. She died of an overdose when I was only a few days old. The man who dropped me off at my grandpa’s house wasn’t my dad, he was her boyfriend. He was my age, and he wanted what was best for me…”

Krista never read the letter Armin’s grandfather left before he died. She figured it was depressing, but not outright life-shattering. She held Armin in her arms as he cried and whispered death wishes directed at himself.

Everyone else woke up one at a time and they all took turns talking to Armin and comforting him through his dark thoughts. They never thought someone as caring and optimistic as Armin could want to hurt himself, but they also didn’t imagine that his grandfather would kill himself and use a Do Not Resuscitate request to achieve his goals, or that his parents weren’t who he was raised to think they were. It was enough to shatter anyone’s psyche, but they couldn’t help but wonder why it had to be Armin’s.


	11. House Of Gold

“Mr. Arlert, is it?” The executor of Mr. Arlert’s will asked as Armin and Eren sat down in the chairs in front of the mahogany desk.

“Yes,” Armin answered. “I hope having my friend here is okay. I just need some moral support…”

Eren was flattered to be sitting beside Armin as his moral support, even though they had only known each other for a little over a month. After Armin had to go to the hospital earlier in the week, he felt that himself and the blonde had grown closer. He felt a bond between them that could never be broken.

Krista, however, was offended as she sat outside the office with the others. “I can’t _believe_ he didn’t ask me to go in with him. We’ve been friends since the beginning of high school. _I’m_ the one who called for help. _I’m_ the one who let him stay at my place for fuck sake!”

“You’re also the one with the mom who kicked him out after she found out what happened because it would _ruin her image,”_ Jean retorted, even doing finger quotes.

Krista sighed in defeat. “Whatever. I’m not mad at the choice he made, I’m mad that he didn’t even consider other totally better choices.”

“You worried he’s gonna fuck your boyfriend?” Jean chuckled, earning an elbow jab to his ribs from Mikasa.

“Please! Eren is _way_ out of his league,” Krista groaned.

Mikasa rolled her eyes, recognizing this side of her from the second time they met back in April. “You’re a terrible person, you know that? I don’t even know how Armin can stand you half the time!”

“Excuse me?” Krista scoffed.

“Yeah, I said it,” Mikasa growled, too furious to listen to Jean’s protesting. “You may have Eren and Armin fooled but I’m not falling for it. You make yourself seem like you’re this perfect little angel and you hide behind your books and your video games and your emo aesthetic and your not-like-the-other-girls attitude just to cover the fact that you’re exactly like every other teenage girl in this world.”

Krista gritted her teeth as she clenched her fists. “Yeah? And what is that exactly?”

“A cunt,” Mikasa smirked.

Krista, enraged, went to tackle her and Marco immediately reacted by picking her up and carrying her out while apologizing to staff members and putting her outside. “Would you get over yourself?!”

“Excuse me?! That bitch called me a cunt!” Krista yelled, trying to push past Marco. “I’ll kick her ass so hard, she’ll go flying back to Japan!”

“Firstly, she was born here,” Marco held her back with ease. “Secondly, Armin brought us all here for moral support. I’m sure that if he didn’t have to pick, we all would have been in that room but they _made_ him pick someone, and don’t let this go to your head but he would have picked you if he had more time to think. Okay? So stop bitching about it and when you’re ready you can come back inside.”

Marco left her on the steps as he walked back into the building. He made it aware of security to not let her in the building and he once again apologized to the receptionists at the front desk. He took a seat next to Jean, who was cuddling an angry-looking Mikasa who had her headphones on and connected to her MP3 player.

“She’s so cute when she’s mad,” Jean whispered as Mikasa scowled into his shirt.

Marco shrugged. “I guess so? She looks kind of terrifying, honestly.”

“Oh it’s only cute if she isn’t screaming or throwing things,” Jean explained, smiling down at the pouting Asian girl in his lap. “With all this girl drama, kinda makes you glad you’re gay, right?”

Marco shrugged once again. “I mean, I guess. No girl drama, don’t have to worry about making a girl orgasm, and I don’t have to worry about getting anyone pregnant.”

Jean winced at that last word. “Right, yeah. That’s definitely a good point!”

Marco took notice of Jean’s change in attitude after he mentioned pregnancy. “Jean, what’s going on? You’ve been acting weird for a while, and you get like this whenever someone brings up children.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jean lied.

Marco didn’t believe him and replied with, “Jean, you can tell me anything, now just tell me what’s going on?”

Jean heaved a sigh, making sure that Mikasa couldn’t hear them. “I should tell you something…”

Inside the dreary office, Eren and Armin both sat in awe as the executioner read the blonde’s grandfather’s will out to them. “...and because young Armin Arlert, my only grandson, is my only next of kin, I bequeathed all of my assets to him including but not limited to: my house and any items within the house, my 1967 Chevy Impala or whichever vehicle I may own at the time, and access to a trust fund I had set up originally for his mother for when she was about to embark on her journey to university. This trust fund is to be available upon Armin’s eighteenth birthday and should only be accessed early for emergencies, and this will is only to be revoked if Armin has committed any federal crimes before my death. Signed, William Benedict Arlert.”

Armin could not believe his ears. “I get everything?”

“With some restrictions because of your age but yes,” The executioner explained. “We will be starting the transferring process for you which will take about a week or so. Do you have any questions at all?”

Armin was so stunned he couldn’t reply, so Eren spoke up for him, “We’re good, Thank you so much.”

“Not a problem boys. I’ll let you know when everything has been finalized,” the executioner replied, handing Armin a business card. “If you need anything, just call me. It was very nice to meet you both.”

The boys said their goodbyes and walked out of the office and back to the waiting area, only to find Krista missing.

“What happened to Krista?” Eren asked.

“She went outside for some fresh air,” Marco replied, standing up. “Should we head off?”

“I think so,” Armin replied, unable to hide the smile on his face.

Armin split off from Eren and followed Marco back to the Impala as Eren went back to his Porsche along with Mikasa and Jean while Krista and her Mercedes Bendz were nowhere to be seen. Armin drove out of the parking lot with Marco in the passenger seat as they talked about how the meeting went. Marco was stunned that Armin was entitled to everything his grandfather owned, though it made sense in the scheme of things.

They pulled into the parking lot of the apartment building Marco lived in with his family and walked inside the building. Elevator music chimed as they rode up to the fifth floor until their ride stopped and the door slid open. Armin and Marco stepped out and walked down the hall to where Marco lived.

“Thank you again for letting me stay with you,” Armin said as the two walked into the apartment.

“Don’t worry about it,” Marco insisted, kicking his boots off at the door. “If anything, it’s not as boring now that you’re around.”

“Hey, guys!” One of Marco’s mothers, Gwenny, yelled from the living room couch. “How did the meeting go?”

“It went well,” Armin replied.

“What’s for supper?” Marco asked, hugging his mom.

“We’ll know once your mother gets out of the shower!” Gwenny yelled towards the bathroom.

“Five minutes!” a female voice yelled back.

Gwenny smiled and stood up. “Guess I’m making supper tonight, honey!”

Suddenly, the water stopped running and a tan woman who was around Armin’s height came out in a towel wrapped around her body. “Two seconds to dry off, okay?”

“Okay, Mariana,” Gwenny smirked as she walked to one of the bar stools.

“For the last time, it’s Mari, _Gwenyth,_ ” Mari teased, earning an eye roll from Gwenny.

Armin smiled at how the family interacted with one another. Laughing, playing jokes on each other, the works. He remembered the first time he visited them and begged Marco’s parents to let him stay there until he sorted himself out. They were accepting, and Gwenny even cradled him in his arms like a mother would do for their crying child. She let him cry into her cashmere sweater, the one she got herself as a treat when it was on sale. Both Gwenny and Mari made the decision right there that Armin would stay with them, and he never felt happier in a darker moment in his life.

“Okay, so I have leftover lasagna and I can do a salad on the side…” Mari was the chef of the house. “Or we can heat up that ratatouille we made last night.”

“Can I have a little bit of ratatouille with my lasagna? I’m curious to try it,” Armin asked, sitting with Gwenny.

“Not a problem, I’ll just need Marco to help me,” Mari replied.

“I’m coming over,” Marco had gone to his room to put on jogging shorts and a workout shirt and came back to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.

Armin decided to strike up a conversation with Gwenny while Marco and Mari started cooking, “Ratatouille. I’ve never heard of it.”

“Yeah, it’s French,” Gwenny explained. “My dad would make it for me when I was little. My dad’s side is where my French came from.”

“So you’re French?” Armin inquired.

“Half French, half Dutch,” Gwenny answered. “Mari is from Puerto Rico, hence where we got Marco from.”

“Is that my name I heard?” Mari asked, putting the lasagna into the oven along with the ratatouille. “You talking about me?”

“Yes, we’re talking about you,” Gwenny replied with a giggle. “Armin and I were having a conversation.”

“Did you tell him that I was so ravishing and suave that I swept you off your feet the night we met?” Mari smiled, leaning against the counter.

Gwenny rolled her eyes. “Oh, I remember. You were so drunk you tripped and spilled your drink on me and made it look like it was on purpose. So suave and ravishing.”

“Okay,” Mari smiled giddily at her wife.

“Don’t mind them,” Marco said, leading Armin towards his bedroom.

The two sat on Marco’s bed and drew up maps for the next part of their campaign, though Marco was reluctant since Krista was mad at everyone. Armin was oblivious to the fight that almost broke out at the office and carried on with his map-making. Though Marco would never admit it, he was a good artist as he either painted or drew every picture he had hung up in his room.

“What all happened at that meeting?” Marco asked, putting his pencils away.

“Oh, uh, nothing special,” Armin replied. “Just the usual, I guess?”

“Well I’m assuming you were given stuff, so what did you get?” Marco persisted.

Armin shrugged. “I got my grandfather’s car and the house and this fund he sent up for me for school. He gave me everything. I don’t know, is that what people usually get?”

Marco was stunned at how Armin was making his outcome look. “Armin, that’s amazing! People usually have to fight to even get a cent of whatever was left, but you got everything!”

“I just feel weird talking about it, especially the house part,” Armin shrugged once again. “Like, I’m going away to university next year so I’ll only be in the house for at most three months and then it’ll be empty for however long I’m gone.”

“Have you ever thought about maybe driving back and forth to school? You do have a car,” Marco suggested.

“I’ve been accepted into residence so that’s not an option,” Armin stated, smelling something from the kitchen. “I think the food is done.”

Armin and Marco joined Mari and Gwenny for dinner. Armin was relatively quiet as he was too busy enjoying his home-cooked meal. He saw how they all spoke to each other and didn’t want to ruin the conversation either so he felt staying quiet was the best option for himself.

Marco ended up dragging him into the conversation by bringing up his meeting with the executioner. “Armin, tell them how the meeting went!”

“Well, I…” Armin was flustered but managed to talk about it, and they were all ecstatic once he finished his story.

“That’s amazing news!” Gwenny congratulated him. “And I’m sure you’ll figure everything out with the house. We have faith in you, Armin.”

That’s when it clicked in his brain and blurted out, “What if your guys lived in the house?”

Genny froze and Mari stared at him with wide eyes, leaving Marco to do the talking. “Are you sure? It’s a generous offer, but‒”

“But what? You guys were looking for a house anyway.” This was true and Armin knew it was true because of all the reality magazines they had lying around.

Mari looked at Gwenny and shrugged, and Gwenny turned to Armin. “Armin, this means the world to us.”

“Is that a yes?” Armin asked, and Gwenny nodded her head.

The four all shared a group hug and went to their meal. Armin stayed in the conversation this time around. He figured that he would need practice if he was going to have family dinners more often and did his best to keep up.

And Gwenny said as everyone finished up dinner, “Armin Arlert, you have a heart of gold…” and Armin smiled.


	12. I'll Be There For You

Armin found himself on a busy schedule for the next week. He was jostling schoolwork, moving households, therapy (recommended by the psychiatrist working at the hospital,) as well as pretending to be Krista a lot more often now that he learned about the fight that broke out between her and Mikasa while he was with Eren. Today was the last he could scratch moving households from his to-do list.

“Your house is beautiful!’ Gwenny complimented as she set down the last box.

“Thank you,” Armin replied, smiling. “It’s not very big, so Marco and I will have to double up in my room but other than that it’s really cozy.”

Marco walked into the kitchen, covered in sweat. “Just set up my bed. Are we cooking tonight or ordering takeout?”

“It’ll have to be takeout. I have too many calls to make,” Gwenny answered, setting down her paperwork. “You guys can order what you want.”

Marco, stoked, pulled out his cellphone and called the local pizza joint. Armin sat with Gwenny and Mari on the couch as they made calls to different government facilities and their respective banks to change their addresses with them. Armin didn’t want to interrupt them so he grabbed a movie from his collection and went to his room.

He booted up his television and DVD player and put on _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_ and began watching the movie. Eren had recommended it to him a while back and thought he would give it a try, and so far he was impressed with how good it was.

“Hey, Armin?” Marco poked his head into their room. “What do you want on your pizza?”

“I’m more of a wing person,” Armin replied.

He didn’t actually like pizza but he figured it was better to say it the way he did instead of how he wanted to say it. “Honey garlic sauce on the side.”

“Okay,” and Marco disappeared once again.

Armin continued to watch his movie until the food had arrived and he was called to dinner. He saw a couple of boxes of pizza and a box of wings labelled specifically for him along with a bag of dipping sauces. He ignored the rest of the food and grabbed his wings.

“You don’t like pizza, do you?” Mari smirked.

Armin froze in place and reluctantly replied, “No?”

“I figured as much,” Mari shrugged, taking a bite of her cheese slice. “No sane person would decline pizza, especially someone your age.”

Armin giggled and sat on the couch and put his chicken wings on the coffee table. “I’m not like most people my age.”

“Yeah, you don’t own a phone either,” Marco spoke up with pizza in his mouth, earning a glare from Gwenny.

“Speaking of that,” Mari searched through her purse and pulled out a box. “This is for you!”

Armin wiped his hands off with a tissue and took the box from Mari. He opened the box and stared at the phone that was tightly wrapped in plastic. It was an older Nokia phone, but Armin appreciated it nonetheless.

“You guys didn’t have to‒”

“We wanted to thank you and figured you could use a cellphone for school,” Gwenny cut him off. “It’s all been set up for you with my number, Mari’s, and Marco’s. Now, no complaining, okay?”

Armin nodded and continued eating with everyone else. Nothing was set up for entertainment in the living room so when Marco finished eating, he excused himself and put his plate in the sink and washed his hands before going to his new room. Armin took a little longer to finish eating because he was too busy having fun with Marco’s mothers.

He finished up and threw out the chicken bones. “Thank you again for the phone. You really didn’t have to.”

“Nonsense, now get some sleep,” Gwenny insisted. “Tomorrow’s your first day back at school.”

Armin washed his hands and went to his room, saying goodnight as he walked away, and to stop in his tracks as he saw Marco holding a blonde wig and familiar-looking dress. He went pale out of fear.

“I wasn’t snooping, I knocked over the bag by accident,” Marco said, putting it back into the Hot Topic bag from which they came. “Why do you have girl’s clothes and a wig?”

Armin couldn’t find the exact words to describe what he wanted to say at that moment, so he stuttered a reply to Marco. “Uh, um, I… You s-see, um… It’s… drag?”

He knew he would regret this later.

“You’re a drag queen? That’s awesome!” Marco said excitedly. “You’re a really cool person, Armin.”

“Just don’t tell anyone?” Armin pleaded. “I’m not ready to tell people I dress up like a woman. Not yet, at least.”

“No worries, your secret is safe with me,” Marco smiled, completely oblivious to Armin’s fairly obvious lying. “Should we watch something?”

“I was watching that teen movie Eren told me to watch, but we don’t have to watch it,” Armin shrugged. “It’s that _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_ movie.”

“Let’s watch it!” Marco laid in his bed.

Armin reset the movie from the beginning and shared laughs with Marco as the movie played from beginning to end. Armin was worried that Marco would suspect that something sinister was going on while Marco thought Armin was a really interesting guy, but one thing was bothering him and he decided to ask about it.

“Armin, are you gay?” Marco asked.

Armin nodded his head. “Krista is the only one who knows, and now you know.”

Marco hid an elated smile and simply hummed in response as they wound down for the night. He had grown closer to the blonde ever since they had started living together and felt himself wanting to see him more often but away from the others. It was more than an attraction, it was that at first, but then it grew into a feeling that he couldn’t fight off.

**. . .**

The next day, everyone was back in school and Marco, Armin, and Jean were all hanging out before classes. Krista was there as well, much to Jean’s distaste, but she had since apologized to everyone. Things were back to normal once again, even with Armin pretending to be Krista.

“Please roll for performance, Krista,” Marco said, looking at his notes behind his minuscule partition.

Krista rolled a fifteen as her outcome. “This plus my bonus would be twenty-one! What happens? Did I seduce anyone?”

Marco rolled his eyes and painted the scene. “Okay, so get on stage and start singing, right? Well, you’ve attracted everyone’s attention, including the man guarding the door behind the counter where the barkeep keeps all of the stolen goods he gets on his little expeditions. With everyone now distracted and seduced, Armin and Jean can make their way in.”

“Sweet! Okay, I’ll go in, you keep watch,” Jean said.

“I still can’t believe we’re doing this,” Armin huffed, portraying his character as accurately as possible. “How do we have?”

“Let’s see…” Marco rolled a twenty-sided die. “Not much time, only two minutes tops, and that’s if you don’t get caught.”

“Hurry up,” Armin said to Jean.

Before they could do anything else, the bell rang for homeroom. Everyone dispersed from the cafeteria and the four friends all parted ways for class.

“Mind if I walk you?” Marco asked Armin, seeing an opportunity at having alone time with Armin.

“Sure! Just gotta keep up!” Armin had to always run since his class was on the other side of the school.

The two ran through the hallway and Armin at one point held Marco’s wrist so that the freckled man could keep up with him as they dodged other students and teachers in the hallway. Marco was blushing the whole time Armin held onto him. They stopped in front of Armin’s first-period class, nearly out of breath.

“That was some good exercise,” Armin smiled, letting Marco’s wrist go. “Thanks for the run!”

“No problem!” Marco replied, gasping for air. “I’ll see you at lunch?”

“Of course you will!” Armin waved as he stepped into his biology class and took his seat and saw his teacher fiddle with the TV, trying to figure out how to play the movie which happened to be _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days._

He took out his phone and texted Krista to see if she made it to class, and she responded with a request for him to step in for her that coming weekend as Eren’s mom wanted to go over wedding plans and assured him that he wouldn’t be trying on wedding dresses. He said yes and put his phone away as class was beginning to start. “I guess I didn’t have to run.”

Marco, however, did have to run. He had to run back to his art class before the second bell rang and he was locked out of class for the rest of the period. This would mean a phone call to his mothers about him being absent so he decided it was best to just run and not worry about getting into trouble.

Marco made it in time and didn’t see his teacher at her desk so he calmly took a seat next to Sasha, the school’s resident bitch.

“You’re not late this time,” Sasha remarked.

“Would you prefer it if I was?” Marco retorted. He would have walked if he knew she would be in class that day.

Sasha rolled her eyes. “I heard you moved.”

The teacher shushed the class as she walked in and Marco whispered to Sasha, “That’s none of your business,” before turning to the front of the room to focus on the lesson for that day.


	13. Be The Best, The Best That I Can Be

The weekend came quicker than Armin had anticipated it would, but that meant he got to spend time with Eren sooner, which delighted him as he got dressed at Krista’s place.

“Okay,” Armin sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. “How do I look?”

“You look perfect,” Krista smiled. “And your ass looks amazing in my pants.”

“You think the hoodie will hide my waist?” Armin asked.

“Of course it will. Don’t even worry about it,” Krista assured him. “Just don’t get naked and you’ll be fine.”

Armin chuckled as he adjusted his blonde wig. “I’m ready to go.”

“I’ll let Eren know that you’ll be waiting outside,” Krista was glad to see that Armin wasn’t so reluctant to get dressed up, even if Eren was mostly the reason for it.

Armin walked downstairs and put his shoes on to go wait outside on the steps. He felt like everything was okay again, as he smiled and texted Marco. The two of them had been growing closer and he loved having a friend who shared his interests. For the longest time, he was only friends with Krista, but now he had Eren, Mikasa, Jean, and Marco as well. His friendship with Eren only made his feelings for the ravenette male grow stronger and more sensual.

A car pulled up, and Armin saw that it was Eren in the driver’s seat. He waved the blonde over and Armin hopped into the front seat and Eren drove off back to his place.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice,” Eren said as he flipped through the radio stations.

“No worries! Anything to make the wedding plans easier, right?” Armin smiled, and Eren stopped at a station that played punk music.

“I never did mention what kind of music I was into,” Eren said, eyes on the road. “I like alternative music for the most part, and even then it’s mostly just a dude singing with his guitar. Punk isn’t really my style.”

Armin hid his smile and replied, “Oh, that’s too bad. I’ve always been into punk music, but I get why some people don’t like it.”

Eren smiled. He loved the girl sitting in his passenger seat. He had been wrestling with the idea of actually being in love with her for a few weeks now, and he knew he could say with confidence that he was in love with her. Now, he just had to say it to Krista’s face.

They pulled into his driveway and exited the car to go inside. Eren’s mother was waiting at the kitchen table with a wedding planner and many different colour swatches and floral samples. It made Armin quiver at the number of flowers he saw on the table. This wouldn’t be a problem for anyone else, but Armin was allergic to flowers.

“Thank you again for coming,” Carla said as she pulled out a chair for Armin to sit in.

Armin had to fight every urge to not sneeze but replied, “Thank you for having me. I wouldn’t miss this for the world.”

“I don’t have to be here, do I?” Eren whined. “Those flowers are gonna give me a headache…”

“Yes you do, this is your wedding as well,” Carla snapped, forcing Eren to take a seat next to Armin. “Alright, let’s go over the colours…”

“I quite like this soft yellow colour,” Armin said, pointing to the swatch labelled Sunshine Paradise.

“I think because it’s your first wedding ever, the main colour should be white, like this one,” Carla pointed to a pearlescent white colour. “Maybe yellow could be an accent colour?”

Eren rolled his eyes, knowing that his mom was trying to control the wedding. “Mom, I think white as the main colour of the wedding would be a little too… obvious?”

“Nonsense,” the wedding planner spoke up. “White is a traditional and beautiful choice for your wedding.”

Armin was too busy trying to hold in a sneeze to join in on the conversation. He looked at the other colours, seeing a nice mint green and muted cyan next to each other. He held up the two colours along with the white Carla had mentioned.

“I think we should go with this colour combination,” Armin suggested. “Like, white is the main colour while most of the accent pieces are these two.”

Carla smiled. “I quite love this combo. What do you think, Eren?”

Eren responded with a sneeze. “I think I’m gonna step out for a minute.”

The groom ran out the front door and Armin followed closely behind. Eren wouldn’t stop sneezing or scratching his face. He looked embarrassed when he saw the blonde standing at the doorstep.

“Sorry, I’m allergic to flowers,” Eren apologized. “I can’t be near them without this happening.”

Armin was about to respond but sneezed into his hoodie sleeve instead and looked at Eren with irritated eyes. “I’m allergic to them too. We can see about getting fake flowers for the wedding if you want.”

“Sure,” Eren smiled, taking in the blonde’s beauty.

Armin was about to walk inside when Eren grabbed his wrist and pulled him back towards him and into a kiss. It felt a little gross considering that both of them had just sneezed due to allergies, but it was sweet nonetheless.

Eren pulled away and gazed into the blue eyes that were in front of him. “Your eyes… They’re beautiful…”

Armin blushed. “T-Thank you…”

The two quickly walked inside, fingers intertwined, and got back to planning with Eren’s mom. They managed to get Carla to agree to use fake flowers rather than real ones and they agreed on how invitations would look. They were given the task of handwriting each letter and sending them out to everyone in Carla’s address book as well as picking their friends that could come to the wedding, and the two went up to Eren’s room with pens in hand.

“Definitely not letting Jean come to the wedding,” Eren chuckled, writing down the name of one of his mom’s coworkers.

“Mikasa would kill you,” Armin replied. “Besides, you guys are friends now.”

“I guess you’re right,” Eren said with an exaggerated shrug.

Armin set his pen down and pushed the closed envelopes aside. “I’m all finished!”

“Nice, just give me another minute and I’ll be done,” Eren said, concentrating on his last few envelopes.

“Want a drink?” Armin asked, standing up and stretching.

“Maybe just a Pepsi from my fridge up…” Eren’s words trailed off as he looked at the stretching blonde.

Armin’s sweater lifted enough to reveal part of his back. He didn’t notice this, but Eren surely did. It looked reminiscent of a man’s back and he looked like he had bruise marks from something tight, something that would have constricted his body.

Eren bit his lip and stood up and wrapped his arms around Armin and kissed his neck.

“Eren-!” Armin nearly jumped out of his skin but eased into Eren’s grasp and he bit onto his neck.

Armin faced Eren and cupped his face into his hands, pulling him in and connecting their lips. They fell onto Eren’s bed as Armin moved from his lips to his neck and started sucking, making Eren moan quietly.

“Wait, Krista! We should make sure no one is home,” Eren suggested.

“You’re right,” Armin agreed.

They searched every inch of the house, noticing that his mother was in her study, the wedding planner was gone, and that Mikasa wasn’t in her room. Eren found this to be strange since she had recently started secluding herself in her room and only leaving if she needed to go to school. She was also coming back later on some days and even skipping school with Jean too, making Eren even more suspicious.

“Why are we going into Mikasa’s room?” Armin wondered, following Eren.

“Because Mikasa is hiding something and it’s worrying me,” Eren explained as he searched her room.

Armin didn’t bother questioning the ravenette and stood guard for him while he searched his sister’s room. He would hear grunts of frustration from time to time and would see Eren bent over something. Armin had to resist the urge to walk up to Eren and slap his butt.

Eren searched high and low but couldn’t find anything that would explain why Mikasa had been acting so strangely. Oddly enough, he also couldn’t find her diary in its usual place, prompting him to search harder. He eventually found the diary and noticed that something was left in between the pages, acting almost like a bookmark, and he took it out to investigate only to look at a positive pregnancy test.

He immediately put the pieces together and solved the puzzle. “I’m gonna kill that Horse-Face bastard!”

Eren was seeing red as he bolted from his spot on the floor and ran out of the room and down the stairs to his mom, hiding the test behind his back. “Mom, where’s Mikasa?”

“Oh, she’s outside with Jean,” Carla replied, not looking up from her work. “It’s nice to see her getting some sunshine again.”

Eren didn’t reply and ran off to the backyard, seeing him teaching her how to play croquet. He didn’t think twice and ran up to Jean and lunged at him, giving him a good Sparta kick to the back before tackling Jean to the ground.

“Eren, what the fuck is your problem?!” Jean yelled.

“How could you do that to my sister?! Huh?!” Eren was wailing on him, landing hit after hit. “How could you think that this was okay?!”

Armin got outside to see Eren beating on Jean and ran and pulled Eren away from him. “Eren, calm down!”

“I can’t calm down! This asshole got my sister pregnant!” Eren yelled, showing the blonde the plastic test.

Armin’s mouth was agape in surprise as Mikasa helped Jean to his feet. “Mikasa…?”

Mikasa didn’t look at him or Eren but replied either way, “Yes, I’m pregnant, okay? Don’t make such a big deal about it.”

“Excuse me?!” Eren scoffed.

“Eren, yelling at your sister will not help the situation!” Armin yelled, shutting him up, and he turned back to Mikasa. “How long?”

“The doctor said about seven weeks,” Mikasa’s voice cracked as tears ran down her face. “It happened the night we had that party…”

Jean cuddled her and glared at Eren. “Now look at what you’ve done.”

“There’s still time to get rid of it, right?” Eren was freaking out. He couldn’t believe that his sister was pregnant despite all of the evidence.

Mikasa shuddered and, for the first time, shoved her brother and sent him flying. “I’m not getting an abortion.”

“You’re eighteen, you can’t raise a baby!” Eren yelled as he stood up. “I’ll drive you there myself, let’s go.”

“You can’t force someone to get an abortion, Eren!’ Armin yelled in protest.

“I thought you would be on my side about this, Krista!” Eren yelled.

“Eren, for fuck sake, she made her decision,” Jean growled, grabbing him by the collar of his white shirt. “Get out of here for a while.”

Jean released Eren, who walked off in anger. He gestured for Armin to follow, but Armin stayed with Mikasa and sat down with her at a bench.

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Mikasa apologized, her hands on her stomach. “And I’m sorry for what happened at the executioner place. I didn’t mean anything I said to you.”

“No problem,” Armin replied, pretending to know what she was talking about. “Have you considered every option though?”

“Jean and I are going to raise it,” Mikasa explained as Jean sat beside her.

“I already asked her all of the questions and she said no to abortion,” Jean added.

“I’m against the idea of murdering a growing baby,” Mikasa continued. “I support reproductive rights, but it’s not something I would want for myself. I could never murder another person, why would I murder my own child?”

Though Armin didn’t entirely agree with Mikasa’s explanation, he supported her decision. Reproductive rights and abortion were a taboo subject, especially where they lived. Not even a lot of doctors supported abortion laws.

“If you haven’t told your mom, I can talk to her with you.” Armin figured Eren was already telling Carla about everything and showing the pregnancy test off like it was a Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.

Mikasa nodded and walked back inside, along with Armin and Jean. She feared the worst as she saw her mom standing just a few feet ahead of her. She took in a deep breath and walked up to her mom and said, “Mom, we need to talk…”


	14. You're A Sunflower

Jean wasn’t in school the next day as he and Mikasa were at an appointment for an ultrasound to make sure nothing was wrong with the baby. He kept everyone updated throughout the day, and the others were all supporting him from their classrooms. It was nice for him since he and Mikasa were both terrified of all the possible outcomes of her pregnancy.

 _Boy or girl?_ Krista messaged the MSN group chat titled _How To Have A Baby In 10 Days,_ parodying the movie of a similar title.

Everyone was home by this point in the day. Krista was in her room, Jean was in his study, Marco and Armin were in their room using Marco’s account, and Mikasa was at her desk. Everyone was excited to know how the appointment went all for different reasons and only Jean and Mikasa had the answers they desired.

Jean replied to Krista, _It’s too early to tell. We’ll know at around 19 weeks_

 _Meaning you’ll have to wait for that answer until at least August,_ Mikasa added.

After a long and frank discussion with her parents and Jean’s mother, Mikasa and Jean officially decided to keep the baby. She felt that she was ready for motherhood and that Jean would make a wonderful father to their child. Despite her mother’s protesting, her father called a friend of his to be her resident physician. She was happy that at least her father supported her decision against abortion.

 _I’m betting it’s a girl,_ Krista nominated.

Marco agreed while Armin was shaking his head. _Yep! And Armin says it’s gonna be a boy_

 _How’s Eren dealing with all of this?_ Krista asked. _He freaked out pretty hard…_

Jean moved to his private messages and messaged Mikasa. _Should I tell them or should you?_

Mikasa replied to Jean, _I’ll tell them_

Mikasa went back to the group chat and explained, _He refuses to speak to Jean. He won’t look me in the eye. It’s like he’s disappointed in me…_

Jean spoke afterwards, _He’s really pissed at me specifically. Granted, I’m the one who came inside of Mikasa so he has some right to be angry_

 _You were both drunk though, right? He can’t be that mad at you guys,_ Marco asked.

Armin took over the keyboard. _Armin speaking this time - Eren is being really unreasonable, IMO. He just needs to get over himself and accept that it happened_

Mikasa smiled and replied, _I wish it were that easy, but thank you, Armin_

“This is really crazy,” Marco said, leaning back in his chair. “I mean, Mikasa was the last person I expected to get pregnant.”

“Accidents happen, and you deal with them when they do,” Armin replied, laying back onto his bed. “Eren is being a jerk.”

“He isn’t usually like this though,” Marco stated. “I thought he would have been supportive. Mad at Jean, but still supportive nonetheless.”

“And the fact that I’m still attracted to Eren proves that sexuality isn’t a choice,” Armin said absentmindedly.

Marco looked at him, unsure of if he heard the blonde correctly. “You like him?”

Armin realized what he had just said and his eyes widened. “...yes?”

Marco felt his heart break in half. “Oh. I thought that maybe guys like him weren’t your type…”

“I didn’t mean for it to happen, but I can’t get over how he makes me feel,” Armin blushed and laid on his side, facing Marco. “It’s just one of those things that you can’t stop, y’ know?”

Marco knew by this point he didn’t stand a choice. He didn’t want to ruin the blonde’s happiness, even if he was pining over a guy who was marrying his best friend. He had to let how he felt go, but it would be difficult for him since they share a room.

“Marco?” Armin asked, throwing a pencil at him but missing.

The snap against the wall broke Marco from his trance and he looked at Armin. “Sorry… I guess I just wasn’t expecting to hear that, with Eren being engaged and all.”

“It won’t work out,” Armin said, his tone making him sound sure of himself.

“How would you know?” Marco asked, curious.

“I just do,” Armin replied, grabbing a movie from his collection. “Wanna watch something with me?”

Marco wanted to get away rather than be stuck in a never-ending loop of negative thoughts and got an idea on how to make that happen. “Wanna go for a drive with me?”

Armin shrugged. “As long as we’re back before it gets too dark.”

The two put their shoes and jackets on and headed out the door. Marco needed to get him alone, and a drive would do that. So, he sat in the driver’s seat of the Impala (with Armin’s permission) and they headed off down the road with no destination in mind.

“You said you were going to university, but you never said what you would be majoring in,” Marco said, entering the city from their suburban area.

“Paramedic studies,” Armin answered, staring at the people on the sidewalk. “I’m going to be an EMT.”

“Any particular reason or just ‘cause?” Marco asked further.

“I wanna save lives as my mom did,” Armin replied. “Or at least, what I thought my mom did…”

Marco didn’t ask any more questions and took in the neon lights and the bustling energy the city had to offer. Marco loved cities. He always did, he always will. Sure, he loved living in the suburbs in a house, but his heart would always belong to the adrenaline rush of city traffic as well as the feeling of always being at peace, despite how noisy it could get from time to time.

This time, however, Marco needed to be completely alone with Armin, so he drove through the city until they were driving alongside fields of grass, heading for the crashing waves of saltwater.

“I’ve never been to the beach,” Armin spoke up after a period of silence.

“Really? Never?” Marco replied in shock. “The beach is, like, a requirement for someone’s childhood.”

“Grandpa would tell me about the beach but would always say that bad stuff happened,” Armin explained. “He didn’t like water, so he kept me away from it as much as possible.”

Marco parked the Impala. “I think it’s time you learned that it isn’t so dangerous.”

Armin smiled and followed Marco to the sandy terrain, walking closer to the water. The sand started to pack together as they marched to the shoreline, stopping just a foot away from the water.

“The ocean is beautiful,” Marco whispered, though he was gazing at Armin rather than the waves.

“I bet it would look amazing in the daytime as well,” Armin stepped closer, bending down to run his fingers through the water.

Armin took off his shoes and socks and rolled up his pants to his knees. He stepped into the water, the cold touch of the ocean sending electric joints up his legs, and standing to watch the sun go down even further. It was his favourite part of the night: the magenta hues of the sunset.

“Thanks for taking me out,” Armin said, turning to see Marco staring intently at him. “You got something on your mind?”

Marco snapped out of his trance and joined Armin in the water. “I just can’t stop thinking about someone right now…”

“Who?” Armin walked up to Marco, water sloshing around with each step he took.

Marco, despite his better judgement, leaned down to kiss Armin. He wanted to forget the thoughts he would have about Armin late at night, but he couldn’t. It took him over to the point where he became a slave to his own lust for his new roommate.

Armin, surprisingly, didn’t pull away. He let Marco kiss him and stared into his dark eyes when he pulled away. He was confused about the situation, though remembering how good he was at inferring different qualities about people, he knew he was wrong.

“I thought you were straight?” Armin said.

Marco stifled a laugh and smiled down at him. “There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me.”

Marco turned to leave the flowing waves, but kicked water in Armin’s direction and dampened his pants. Armin smirked and kicked water back at him with a greater force. Soon, the two were splashing each other and rolling around as they laughed. It was a moment they wanted to live in forever.

Eventually, Armin retreated to the sand, soaking wet. “How are we going to explain this to your moms when we get home?”

“We don’t have to,” Marco suggested, brushing sand off of his feet and putting his shoes back on. “I’m also certain that they’re asleep by now.”

“We didn’t exactly tell them where we were going,” Armin remarked.

The two walked back to the Impala with wet socks and sand in their showers. Armin was certain that the car would get dirty but it was nothing he couldn’t clean out at another time. He just wanted to enjoy the rest of the night with Marco by his side.

“Armin, I know you said you liked Eren, but I just can’t stop thinking about you,” Marco said as they leaned against the black Chevy. “You’re all I think about some days. I’ve been feeling like this for a little bit now. Hell, I guess what I’m asking is if you’d give me a shot?”

“Marco, I…” Armin was at a loss for words. He thought that Marco was a good-looking guy when he would see him in the hallways, but then he got to know Marco and learned that they shared the same interests. He was at a crossroads with potential lovers. Eren was passionate and protective (a little too much at times) while Marco had a calming energy about him where Armin didn’t have to pretend to be someone he wasn’t.

They were both attractive young men, but only one of them could be his boyfriend… 

_One date couldn’t hurt…_ and Armin leaned closer and kissed Marco under the yellow street lamp to the sound of the ocean waves crashing in the distance.

Marco drove home with a giddy smile plastered onto his face. He couldn’t get over his kiss with Armin. He felt like his fifteen-year-old self again, when he had gotten his first ever crush. Now, he had his first-ever boyfriend, and he was excited that it was Armin who filled that role in his life for him.

Armin, however, was scared. He had never dated anyone before and didn’t know the first thing about it. He wasn’t even sure if he liked Marco. He only said yes because Marco seemed like a good guy.

 _Maybe if I go out with him a couple of times, I might like him?_ Armin thought as he stared out the window.

That question never received an answer. As the two drove at the green light, they were hit by someone, sending the Impala flying through the air and landing upside down. The driver’s door was badly damaged, meaning Marco took most of the impact.

Armin was in a daze and looked over and saw that Marco’s arm was crooked and his bones had snapped and torn right through his flesh. He wasn’t awake as well, and Armin leaned over to nudge Marco before fading out once again as ambulance sirens rang through the night, and he thanked whatever higher power was listening for seatbelts.


	15. Living On A Prayer

Armin woke up, back in the hospital. He looked over his body, seeing the bandages on his skin. He managed to escape with only a few cuts and bruises, though his head was pounding from the impact of hitting the dashboard. He even had a scar hidden on his scalp from the accident.

“Hmm,” he groaned, looking around the room.

Marco wasn’t anywhere to be found whereas Mari and Gwenny were on the chair, reading a magazine. Gwenny noticed that Armin had woken up and rushed over to the bed.

“Thank God you’re alright!” Gwenny said as she hugged him.

“Where’s Marco?” Armin asked, more concerned with his friend than himself.

“He’s in surgery to have his arm removed…” Gwenny was in tears and Mari couldn’t even speak.

Armin joined the crying and hugged Gwenny close. The two drowned in each other’s tears as Mari sat off to the side in disbelief of the entire situation. Marco was so badly damaged, he lost his arm and three of his ribs were broken. Mari always taught him better, but this time it didn’t pay off, for he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt when the distracted driver crashed into the Impala.

“I hope that man goes to prison,” Mari growled as she hugged the blonde closer.

After a couple more days, Armin was released from the hospital and returned to school only to be showered with worried faces and comforting hugs. He just wanted everything to go back to normal, but his friends weren’t ready for that yet. Armin’s life was chaotic and they were too worried to just let a car accident slip their minds.

Krista wouldn’t leave him alone for the duration of their lunch period together and Jean was asking questions about Marco since he could get through to neither Gwenny nor Mari. They were both worried, but about two different people.

“Armin, stop going to the hospital!” Krista whined, hugging him as he sat down with his lunch. “You can’t keep scaring us like this!”

“How do you think Marco’s parents feel?” Armin replied, eating his sandwich.

“It’s really crazy that you made it out with only a couple of bruises while Marco lost his arm…” Jean was depressed about the situation. He and his freckled friend had known each other since middle school, and he was worried that the worst possible outcome would come true.

Armin felt guilty at the mention of Marco’s name. They were on their way to starting a relationship only for it to be derailed by a severe car crash. He thought that it was a sign that this wasn’t meant to be, and he didn’t even believe in those! What he did believe in was that if he hadn’t said yes, this would have never happened.

“Uh, Krista, I forgot my water, can you go to my locker?” Armin asked.

Krista, though suspicious, shrugged and left the cafeteria to get him his water bottle. Armin took this opportunity to admit to Jean what was going on behind the scenes between him and Marco.

“Marco and I kissed,” Armin whispered.

Jean’s mouth was agape from the sudden information. “You kissed him? Why did you guys kiss?”

“It was at the beach before the accident,” Armin explained. “He kissed me and said that he couldn’t stop thinking about me ever since he and I started living together, and when he asked me if he wanted to start going out, I didn’t say anything. I just kissed him.”

“Do you like him?” Jean asked, keeping his voice low.

Armin shrugged. “I wanted to see where it went, y’ know? Like, if we went out a couple of times I’d start to like him.”

Jean huffed in frustration. “Marco has been led on before. Like, the guy went out with him for free stuff and Marco was too dense to realize and kept trying to call him. I had to break it to him that he wasn’t gonna call back and it destroyed him for a month. All I’m saying is, if you don’t know if you like him, think about it before you go on a date with him.”

Krista returned and the two became silent on the subject as Krista started talking about the latest video games she bought. Armin didn’t even consider what Jean had said. He didn’t even know if he liked him or not, and he agreed to start dating. He did this all while having feelings for Eren as well, and that made him feel even more guilty.

School was over in a flash and Armin rushed to his ride to the hospital, Eren Yeager. The ravenette was already at home that day because Mikasa wasn’t feeling healthy and was taking care of her before Armin called. As Armin got into the Porsche, he felt that sense of comfort and the recognizable feeling of security he always had around Eren, making his decision all the more right.

“How was school?” Eren asked sarcastically, acting like a doting mother.

Armin smiled as he stared out the window. “I had fun, despite the all-mighty four being reduced to a trio.”

“I’m sure Marco will be back on his feet before you know it,” Eren said in an encouraging tone of voice. “And trios aren’t always a bad thing. I mean, look at the emo trinity.”

“I get your point, Brendon Urie,” Armin smirked, looking at how Eren had swooped his hair to the side as emo kids would do on MySpace.

“I’m more of a Ryan Ross personally,” Eren smiled, reaching for Armin’s hand and giving him a comforting squeeze. “He’ll be okay.”

Armin looked away to hide the blush on his cheeks. He was calm and collected on the outside (minus looking a little red,) but on the inside, he was screaming. He wanted to shout out his feelings, but he could only squeak out, “We’ll carry on.”

Eren smirked at the My Chemical Romance reference. “We’ll carry on.”

The two sat in peaceful silence with their fingers still intertwined. Eren felt that comforting energy he felt. It was something he didn’t question. He enjoyed having Armin around, but he felt more than wanting him to simply be around. He wanted to marry him, but he already felt this way about Krista so he knew he couldn’t pursue anything romantic with Armin. It wouldn’t be right to his future wife.

Abruptly, Armin said, “I kissed Marco, and I don’t think I like him that way.”

Eren looked at the blonde out of the corner of his eye. “Are you gonna tell him?”

“I’m just worried that it’ll be awkward after I do,” Armin explained. “I share a room with him.”

“You made it awkward when you guys kissed, don’t make it any worse for yourselves,” Eren insisted, squeezing his hand once again.

As the radio played the first note of Welcome To The Parade, both Eren and Armin froze up as the piano and the vocals of Gerard Way serenaded the last few minutes of their car ride. By the time they pulled into the hospital parking lot, they were screaming the lyrics and enjoying each other’s company.

Eren looked over at Armin as he belted out the song. He was entranced by the voice echoing in his car. He loved his voice, it was so beautiful, and it only reaffirmed his feelings for the blonde boy in the passenger seat of his car.

Armin looked over and caught Eren staring, feeling his face flush red. He wasn’t sure who leaned in first, but the two of them were suddenly kissing. Their lips met as Eren grasped his hand tighter and rested his other hand on the blonde’s thigh. Armin ran his fingers through Eren’s jet-black hair as their lips tasted each other.

Armin, realizing that he was making out with Eren Yeager, pulled away and quickly excused himself to go into the hospital. He ran from the car, leaving Eren dumbfounded, and rushed to get checked in and find Marco’s room.

He rode up the elevator and arrived at Marco’s floor and ran to his room. He peered around the doorway and saw that Marco was reading a magazine until he looked over and saw Armin standing in the hallway out of breath.

“I need to tell you something,” Armin said, walking in and sitting in the chair. He didn’t waste any time getting to his point. “I can’t date you, and I’m sorry for kissing you. I don’t like you like that and I don’t wanna ruin the friendship we have and I’m really really sorry for kissing you and leading you on the way I did-”

“Armin, slow down. I feel the same way,” Marco cut him off. “I’d rather stay friends too.”

“Really?” Armin replied, both relieved and surprised by his answer.

“Yep, now tell me about what I missed in school,” Marco said and gestured for Armin to come closer.

Marco never meant any of what he said. Being in the hospital alone only gave him time to daydream over Armin. He realized that he was in love with Armin. When he kissed Armin, it felt amazing, like it was someone's first-ever kiss. He knew they wouldn't be the same, but he didn't want them to be the same. He wanted something with Armin, even if it meant waiting for the right moment to strike.


	16. School's Back In Session

Marco was back in school the following day and welcomed back by an overwhelming amount of support from his friends and classmates, even people he didn’t even know started asking about his well being. Girls were coming up to him and flirting with him as well though they were fixated on the light he was being portrayed in rather than his actual personality. Marco didn’t know what to do with all this newfound attention and tried to live life as if the crash never happened.

“Uno,” Krista said, putting down a yellow plus two card.

“Fuck off,” Jean growled, still upset with her over the fight she and his girlfriend had.

“Play nice,” Armin said, putting down a yellow seven.

Marco had his cards face down on the table since he only had one working hand. He looked through his cards and set down a red seven, hoping that Krista didn’t have either that colour or that number. To his dismay, she won the game and tallied up the boys’ points.

“Okay so that’s fourteen for Armin, twenty-seven for Jean, and twenty-three for myself,” Marco said as he wrote out the scores.

“I swear she’s fucking cheating,” Jean sneered.

“Nope, she’s just really strategic,” Armin said as he collected the cards and shuffled them all together. “Who lost?”

“Jean did with a total of two hundred seventy-three points,” Marco replied. “Wanna go again?”

“Fuck no,” Jean answered. “Why don’t we play something else instead?”

“I only brought Uno though,” Krista said, putting the card into her book bag. “What else could we play?”

“How about we get everyone together and have a board game night?” Jean suggested. “We can all hang out for the night and have snacks and just chill out.”

“I’d rather prep for my tests than play board games,” Armin said, stretching his arms toward the ceiling. “Not unless we could do both.”

“We could do both,” Jean offered. “C’mon, it’ll be fun!”

“Please, Armin?” Krista begged. “We all deserve a break from the shit that’s been going on recently!”

Armin didn’t budge. He wasn’t one for parties after Mikasa got pregnant, especially parties that had alcohol. He also didn’t like drinking, not after he puked in Eren’s house. Speaking of Eren, the blonde also had other plans that he wanted to attend to.

Armin shook his head as the bell rang for afternoon classes. “I’m just gonna study. You guys have fun though.”

Krista knew what he was thinking while Jean and Marco were in the dark. While Jean and Marco parted ways to get to class, Krista tagged along with Armin to confirm what she was thinking.

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna hang out with Eren, are you?” Krista asked.

Armin shrugged. “We’ve been texting a lot recently, and when he kissed me as me, I don’t know. I just…”

“Just don’t get yourself into trouble, okay?” Krista said, hiding her anger with a smile. “He can’t know about our act.”

Armin nodded and excused himself to get to class, and Krista walked to her next class. She wanted to be happy that he liked Eren, and she was at first, but the things Armin was telling her made her worry that she would get burned in the end and that Eren would find out things that he didn’t need to know. The only good outcome would be that Eren doesn’t put two and two together and just cancels the wedding because he loves Armin, but the probability of that happening would be slim in reality. She was usually optimistic but she couldn’t be this time, not when her reputation was on the line.

Armin sat himself down for class and saw that they were watching a movie rather than going over their notes for the upcoming test, making him groan in frustration. _At least it’s How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days…_

Armin pulled out his notes and cross-referenced anything in his textbook that he wasn’t sure about as he studied for his test on the anatomy of human beings for his morning Science class. The movie was great background noise and allowed him to work peacefully rather than deal with shouting students. He often preferred movie days because no one was making noise.

Armin’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he took a look at his screen. Eren had sent him a text message, inquiring about the board game night Jean had suggested doing.

Armin replied, _I’m not gonna go. I have 2 study_

 _How about u come over and I can help u study?_ Eren asked.

 _IDK, I’m often studying on my own,_ Armin stated.

 _I would be the best study buddy tho! Plz???_ Eren pleaded.

Armin smiled. _K, but I really need 2 study. No fooling around!_

Eren replied with a winky face and Armin put his phone away and got back to studying, excited that he now had an excuse to not go to Jean’s board game night.

**. . .**

Eren finished the school day and drove to Armin’s school to pick him up so that they could hang out. He ended up skipping his last class of the day but he didn’t think it mattered that much since it was only English, something he considered to be his “throw-away” class, even though he needed that class to graduate high school. Armin was more important at that moment and he could always cheat off of his sister during exams.

He pulled up to the carpool lane and waved over the blonde who was waiting by the oak tree by the front entrance and drove off once he was in the front seat. Eren couldn’t help but remember that only the day before, the two had kissed in his car in the hospital parking lot. He blushed, but he also felt guilty about the event. He loved Krista, but Armin made him feel the same way as his fiancee did.

“Whatcha thinking about?” Armin asked, grabbing his attention.

“Oh it’s nothing,” Eren replied. “Let’s get our studying on!”

Once they were at Eren’s, the day quickly turned into the evening as they had been studying for hours at this point and both of them had grown very tired. Eren could barely keep his eyes open as he glanced at the clock on the nightstand beside his bed. It was already well into the evening, and just about supper time for the Yeager family. He didn’t want the night to end just yet so he invited the blonde to stay for dinner.

“Would your parents be okay with that?” Armin asked.

“Of course they would, plus you’ve never met them before so you would be able to introduce yourself to them!” Eren said, his ulterior motives hiding beneath his toothy grin.

Armin froze, since he had met Eren’s parents before but just in drag, but he nodded his head nonetheless. “That would be cool.”

“Sweet! I’ll go fix something up then,” Eren said as he went downstairs.

The ebony-haired man raced down the stairs to the kitchen, seeing his sister making something at the stove. He walked past her, feelings of guilt washing over him. Their fight about her pregnancy was still as clear as day to him, and he couldn’t speak to her without wanting to crawl into a hole and never come out. He felt terrible for what happened but he didn’t want to back down.

“Want something to eat?” Mikasa asked, noticing that Eren had his head in the fridge.

Eren didn’t respond. He was right and nothing could change that.

Mikasa was growing tired of the silent treatment. It was getting to be childish but that never stopped her brother from trying that tactic when he didn’t get his way. “You gonna do this if Krista gets pregnant and wants to keep her baby?”

“Krista wouldn’t get herself pregnant. She’s smarter than you,” Eren growled as he pulled out some raw meat.

Mikasa chucked her wooden spoon at him, missing his head by a narrow margin. “There’s a fucking reason they call it accidental fucking pregnancy, you fucking twat!”

Armin heard yelling coming from downstairs. It was a male voice and a female voice, leading him to believe Eren and Mikasa were arguing with each other. They were at least speaking, but he also heard a loud snap and ran downstairs in case he had to call an ambulance.

When he got there, Eren was standing by the fridge while Mikasa was cooking vegetables in a frying pan, both seething in anger. “What happened?!” the blonde asked.

“She threw a spoon at me!’ Eren yelled.

“Eren blamed me for getting pregnant!” Mikasa yelled louder.

Armin groaned and set the siblings to their living room couch. They followed his orders and sat down on opposite ends of the couch with Armin sitting on the wooden coffee table in the middle of the room. He hated being the middleman of these kinds of situations but they had been fighting for way too long.

“Okay, let’s start with Mikasa…” Armin played referee as Eren and Mikasa took turns speaking.

Mikasa wanted the feud to stop because she missed talking to Eren. She just wanted his support despite how he felt about her being pregnant. He didn’t have to like it, but Mikasa wanted him to be there for her no matter what. Eren, on the other hand, felt that he was trying to protect her for her whole life, but screwed up. He ended up admitting his guilt over the situation but that he just couldn’t fathom that his by-the-books sister got pregnant after a night of drinking. He didn’t know how to process the information he received.

“I just wanted to keep you from getting hurt again,” Eren said, looking over at his sister. “You matter so much to me, and I don’t want to see anything bad happen to you.”

Mikasa shed a tear as she looked at her brother who had extended his hand. “I just want us to be friends again.”

“We never stopped being friends,” Eren smiled. “Just hug me already.”

Armin witnessed the two make up and couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Are we good now?”

The two each nodded in agreement and they all went back to the kitchen to have something to eat. Carla and Grisha ended up working late at the hospital so it was just Eren, Armin and Mikasa at the table, where Mikasa was serving up roast beef with a side of grilled carrots and hot buttered corn. Mikasa was only eating meat because the doctor assigned her a new pregnancy diet that would help her baby develop properly.

“So, you can’t have fish at all?” Armin inquired as he ate his supper.

“Yeah. It wasn’t like I was eating fish anyway but now I just have this desire to eat a bunch of fish,” Mikasa explained. “Jean said he would do the diet with me.”

“Horse-Face is gonna give up alcohol for nine months?” Eren said as he played with his carrots.

“Eat your food, Eren,” Mikasa said, shoving his plate towards him. “He’s a picky eater.”

“I’m not picky, I just don’t like grilled carrots,” Eren insisted.

“That’s a really specific thing to not like, now eat your dinner,” Mikasa glared at her brother until he stabbed into his carrots and took a bite.

“Funny how you’re not with Jean right now,” Armin said as he finished up his plate. “Sorry, that sounded really rude.”

“No no, it’s okay! He’s just doing that board game thing and I wasn’t in the mood so I didn’t go,” Mikasa explained, telling half of the truth.

Armin shrugged and Mikasa took his plate and utensils to the sink to rinse them off.

Recently, Jean and Mikasa had been fighting about the diet. Mikasa wanted him to quit drinking at least until their baby was born and Jean insisted that he would. Later, when she found out about Jean having a game night that she wasn’t invited to, she learned from her friend Annie Leonhart that he didn’t invite her because he was going to have alcohol at the party. She sent him an angry text along the lines of “you’re a fucking liar” and ignored every text he had sent that day in return. Pregnancy wasn’t going to be easy, and she knew that, but she was starting to wonder if Jean understood that. After all, he was the one who got her pregnant.

“I didn’t wanna go either. I have better shit to do than play board games,” Armin said, eating the last few carrots off of Eren’s plate. “And knowing him, there will be drinking involved and I’d rather not do that again. I puked the last time I did.”

“Really?” Eren asked, a puzzled expression on his face. “You should have seen Krista, she cried and puked all night!”

Something clicked in Mikasa’s brain when her brother brought up how Krista acted at her party. She vaguely remembered the details but it was enough to turn the cogs in her brain and answer the question her brain had been stumped on ever since she had met Krista. She just needed to get rid of Eren to confirm what she was thinking.

“Thanks for having supper with me,” Mikasa said as she filled the sink with hot water and dish soap. “Armin, can you help me with these?”

“No, I’ll do it–” Eren stood up.

“No no, don’t worry about it! I’ll meet you back upstairs,” Armin insisted, playing into Mikasa’s hands.

Eren went back to his room and Armin grabbed a cloth and started drying off dishes. Mikasa was silent for a few seconds until she heard Eren shut his bedroom door.

“How is Krista, by the way?” Mikasa asked, putting her plan into motion.

Armin was completely unaware of what was going on and replied, “She’s been okay. I got into Dungeons & Dragons so she’s been obsessing over that recently.”

“She seems like she’s into video games,” Mikasa said. “Like, _really_ into video games.”

“Yeah, she’s practically a pro gamer,” Armin smiled.

“She’s also into books, and like I said, _really_ into books,” Mikasa laid it on a little too thick this time and Armin became suspicious.

“Don’t you know this already?” Armin curled an eyebrow upward in confusion.

Mikasa sighed and handed him the last plate. “I know her secret, Armin, and by default, yours too.”

Armin froze and knew he couldn’t lie about it any longer, considering that she knew everything. “Okay, fine. I’ve been dressing up as Krista because she’s a lesbian and doesn’t want to marry Eren and is hoping that the wedding gets cancelled.”

Mikasa blinked a couple of times in disbelief and sent Armin a satisfied grin. “So he likes you, not Krista?”

“He likes my version of Krista,” Armin explained.

“Good. I can’t stand that witch,” Mikasa admitted as she drained the water. “Why do you even do this for her? She’s so...ugh!”

Armin giggled, “That’s how everyone talks about her. I just know her in a different way than everyone else does. And I’m doing this because I like Eren, and I think he likes me back.”

“Why doesn’t she just tell her parents she’s gay?” Mikasa asked.

“She doesn’t know how her parents will react, and she doesn’t want to come out just so she can stop a wedding,” Armin explained. “Like, it’s odd logic, but I respect it. She wants to come out to her parents when they can’t do anything to hurt her if that’s how they react.”

“I can help you get in with Eren,” Mikasa offered. “Might make this whole wedding thing go away faster too.”

Armin smiled at Mikasa. “That would be great actually. I’m tired of wearing a fucking corset every time I’m here.”

Mikasa smirked and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll figure something out for you. Head back upstairs now.”

Armin smiled and gave her a quick hug before heading back up the stairs and opening the door to Eren’s room. The ebony-haired teen was laying on his bed in his pyjamas except he wasn’t wearing a shirt.

Armin blushed as he sat down beside Eren. “Not gonna wear a shirt?”

Eren smirked, seeing the reddish colour on the blonde’s cheeks. “Want me to put one on?”

Armin thought about what Mikasa had said about helping him with his feelings for Eren and bit his lip as dirty images flashed through his mind on what they could do and he let Eren pull him closer. “You can keep it off…”


	17. I Still Get Jealous

At the end of the week, the group of teenagers were all back in school and gearing up for the weekend. They just needed to make it through Friday before they were free to goof off and fool around for the next couple of days. And Jean had a couple of ideas of what they could do during their free time.

Jean had everyone gathered at the mall food court outside of the KFC as he formulated his plans. “Well, since we have an entire weekend to ourselves, let’s all hang out at my place tonight and then we can go out for the weekend.”

Eren updated Armin via text because the blonde had elected to stay in school because he couldn’t sign himself out of school due to him only being seventeen. Marco was the same age but he just skipped rather than stay at school. He would just explain to his moms that all of his teachers marked him absent by mistake, something that Armin wasn’t comfortable doing.

“Will it be alcohol-free?” Eren asked. He and Jean had since made up over his freak out about the pregnancy, though he had a long way to go before they were friends again.

“Well since it’s illegal to drink in public spaces, yes,” Jean answered. “I propose we all go to the big city on Saturday for a day of relaxation and shopping.”

“So what? We all get a massive van and run off to the city together?” Krista wasn’t impressed.

“I’m gonna have to agree with Krista,” Marco spoke up. “What would we do for hotels? Not all of us can afford that.”

“Well, we could stay at someone’s place tonight, go to the city tomorrow, and then back to town that same night and we all hang out on Sunday before school as one last day of freedom before we all have to start preparing for exams,” Mikasa suggested. “I think this would be a good way to blow off some steam before exams.”

“Well, if Mikasa is for it, so am I,” Eren smiled. “What about you guys?”

Krista shrugged. “Could I invite someone with me?”

“The more the merrier,” Mikasa replied. “I was going to bring Annie with us, per Jean’s request.”

Eren texted Armin with more updates. He was hoping that the blonde would be able to come with him on the weekend getaway, almost jumping in his seat awaiting the blonde’s answer.

Armin responded with, _Sounds like a plan! Just let me know what I need 2 pack :^)_

“Armin’s in!” Eren said with a giddy smile.

“I’ll go then. I’d rather not be alone all weekend,” Marco finally agreed.

“Okay, everyone pack clothes, your toothbrushes, and anything else you might need,” Jean smirked as he formulated his plans. “We’re gonna have a crazy weekend…”

**. . .**

Armin packed his backpack with a couple of sets of pyjamas, clothes he could change into, his toothbrush, his hairbrush, and his notes for his classes. He figured that he could get some studying done on the ride there or if he couldn’t sleep at night, which would be the most likely thing to happen. He had trouble sleeping in places he wasn’t familiar with (minus that time he was drunk at Eren’s.)

“Got everything you need?” Marco asked, looking at the time on his phone to check the time. “And why are you bringing your homework?”

“I need _something_ to do to pass the time,” Armin replied, sliding his arms through his backpack straps. “Besides hang out with you guys.”

“Of course, but maybe reconsider? You’ve done loads of studying for the past week and you deserve a break,” Marco sent a warm smile his way. “If you want to bring your science notes, it’s fine, but maybe this time leave science at school.”

“I just kind of figured that maybe Eren could help me,” Armin blushed as he slipped his shoes onto his feet. “Like friends.”

Marco winced when Armin mentioned that name. It still stung that he had to let Armin go, even though it would obviously for the best, but hearing how Armin felt about Eren made him depressed. Armin was the one that got away, but if he truly loved him, he knew he would have to let him go.

Armin saw that Marco was staring at the sunset outside of the window and threw a stuffed bear at Marco’s head to get his attention. “Marco?”

Marco flinched from the impact and looked at the short blonde. “Sorry, I gotta finish packing…”

Armin grabbed his phone and texted Jean and said that he and Marco would be at his place in around fifteen minutes. Marco was ready to go and the two entered the newly-renovated Chevy Impala and made the drive to Krista’s house to pick up the blonde girl before heading over to Jean’s place.

**. . .**

Eren and Mikasa had already arrived at Jean’s and were helping him set up the living room so that people could sleep comfortably without bumping into furniture or each other. Sticking to his word, Annie Leonhart was there helping them out.

“Are you going to be on the floor?” Annie asked Mikasa as they were pouring chips into giant glass bowls.

“No, I’ll be in a bed. Jean insisted on it,” Mikasa answered. “He’s a sweet guy.”

“He really is. I honestly envy your relationship,” Annie smiled. “I can never make it work with anyone. People just don’t get me.”

“That’s because people are obsessed with sex and freak out when you tell them you’re asexual,” Mikasa said as she grabbed some pop from the fridge. “What about that Reiner guy? Doesn’t he like you?”

“No, he’s dating this girl from another school, and I don’t even like him so it wouldn’t work,” Annie shrugged. “Bertolt and I have been talking though.”

“Does he know about…?” Mikasa said as she leaned against the counter beside Annie. “I would understand why you wouldn’t want to say anything.”

“He doesn’t,” Annie replied. “I’m too nervous to tell him.”

“The worst he can say is that he isn’t interested, right? So tell him,” Mikasa smiled.

The girls heard Eren and Jean fooling around in the living room and looked over to see them wrestling on the floor as laughter filled the house. It made Mikasa smile to see that they were finally getting along again. “Let’s get these snacks done,” Mikasa said as she filled another bowl with off-brand pretzels.

In the living room, Eren had Jean pinned down, winning yet another wrestling match between the two of them. “You really suck at this!”

“Oh please, I’ve just been letting you win!” Jean laughed as he pushed Eren off of him and stood up. “I’m gonna sit for a while. I don’t wanna get tired before everyone else comes over.”

Eren smiled as the adrenaline in his body dissipated. “It would make going to sleep easier though.”

The two men had a weird relationship that neither one knew how to bring up without sounding awkward. Eren had forgiven Jean and apologized to him for beating him up but wasn’t ready to try to rekindle their friendship just yet. Jean, on the other hand, just wanted things to go back to normal before they got even worse.

Jean couldn’t stand the silence so he spoke up. “Thanks for coming over to help me out.”

Eren sat down on the couch beside him. “No problem. It’s the least I could do.”

“Listen, about what’s been going on recently-”

“No, Jean. I don’t wanna talk about it,” Eren insisted.

Jean didn’t push the subject any further and saw Mikasa carrying in the snacks and Annie carrying the drinks. He rushed over to help the girls and they set everything down onto the coffee table that was now located at the wall.

“Is there anything else we would need?” Eren asked, going through his mental list of sleepover requirements.

“I think we would just need movies and possibly board games and we’ll be set,” Annie said, setting up her sleeping bag early. “I’m sleeping next to the kitchen.”

“Okay, Hufflepuff,” Eren chuckled.

“Fuck off, Griffyndoor,” Annie said as she and Mikasa painted each other’s nails.

“Should we be painting our nails?” Jean asked sarcastically.

“Come here!” Mikasa dragged Jean closer and picked out a blue colour for him to wear.

Eren heard a knock at the door and ran to go answer it, seeing two blondes, a tall man covered in freckles, and a girl he didn’t recognize. “Come on in guys!” Eren said, gesturing for them to enter. “We just finished setting up.”

“What’s on the agenda?” Krista asked, putting her sleeping bag in the middle of the room. “Truth or Dare? Spin the Bottle? Never Have I Ever?”

“Actually, I was thinking we could do party games.” Jean pointed over to his TV stand. “I have a bunch in there. Take your pick!”

Eren was intrigued by the new face in the room and decided to make her feel welcome. “I don’t think we’ve met before! I’m Eren!”

“Ymir,” Ymir shook Eren’s hand. “Krista wanted me to come.”

“Oh, so you’re Krista’s friend?” Eren asked.

Ymir chuckled and bit her lip. “You could say that.”

The two didn’t go any further into their conversation and everyone had settled down enough to get the evening underway. Mikasa set up for a seven-player Uno game and passed around cups and a two-litre bottle of Dr. Pepper. She didn’t want to play and opted to keep score until everyone had completed four rounds of the game.

Krista came out victorious on the final round as she threw her final card down. “I’m so good at this!”

“Do I need to even calculate the final scores?” Mikasa asked as she looked up from her notepad.

“ _Please_ don’t,” Jean insisted. He came in last again.

“Got any other games?” Armin asked as he collected the cards and handed them back to Mikasa.

“I have an idea! Let’s play Spin the Bottle,” Krista suggested excitedly.

Eren eyed Armin and nodded his head enthusiastically. “I agree.”

“Wanna get in on this, ‘Kasa?” Jean asked as he brushed his hair out of his eyes. This was a move he did when he wanted her to do something with him and it always worked like a charm.

Mikasa nodded her head and sat beside him. “I’m not kissing Eren though. That’s just gross.”

“Agreed,” Eren said as he sat next to Marco.

Jean grabbed an empty wine bottle and set it down in the middle of the circle everyone had formed on the floor. “Okay, who’s going first?”

Armin was buried in his studying while Krista was trying to convince him to play. Marco put on a brave face and spun the bottle, watching it circle a few times until it landed on the blonde boy in question. Armin blushed as he looked over at the freckled boy.

Eren felt a sense of jealousy as Marco leaned closer to Armin and planted a quick kiss onto the blonde’s lips. He gritted his teeth and grabbed the bottle. “My turn.”

Eren spun the bottle and prayed it landed on either Armin or Krista or even Annie or Jean for all he cared. He couldn’t deal with Marco being what he considered to be an asshole and kissing his sister would have made things awkward for everyone in the room. All he could do watch the bottle spin and spin until it slowed to a stop and pointed at Jean.

“Oh fuck no!” Eren yelled.

“C’mon dude, it’s just one kiss,” Jean groaned, not excited about the outcome either. “Just man up and kiss me!”

“Fine!” Eren grabbed Jean by the collar of his shirt and pulled him closer and kissed him before pushing him away and wiping his mouth off with his shirt sleeve. “You taste like hay and glue!”

“Eren, don’t be dramatic,” Marco groaned, unimpressed with how he reacted to one kiss.

“Here, I’ll go next,” and Ymir continued the game by spinning the bottle.

Eventually, everyone got their shot at kissing someone except for Armin. The bottle hadn’t landed on him after Marco spun it at the beginning and he was the last one left to go. Armin took the bottle in a shaky hand and spun it around, the hairs on the back of his neck standing up on end as he watched it.

Eren and Marco exchanged a knowing glance as they watched the bottle spin around in a circle. Both of them wanted the bottle to land on themselves and Marco was currently in the lead with one kiss as opposed to Eren having to deal with the fact that he kissed the guy that got his sister pregnant. They watched as the bottle slowed to a stop and looked up. It was pointing at Mikasa.

Mikasa shrugged and kissed Armin. “Soft, I like it.”

Jean chuckled and pulled out a sarcastic tone. “I’m watching you.”

Armin laughed and went back to his study notes. “I’m gonna chill on the couch for a while.”

The night went on as they all played other games Jean had, shared secrets and stories of each other, and finally decided to wind down with a quick movie before hitting the hay for the night. Because Annie had never watched _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_ before, everyone decided to watch that while Armin opted to study in the dining room since he had seen that movie millions of times.

Eren slipped away from the crowd and leaned against the doorway as Armin wrote down scientific names for different parts of the human body. The blonde wasn’t aware of the ravenette’s presence until he heard a slight cough.

“Oh, hi,” Armin said as he looked at the tanned male.

“Why did you kiss Marco?” Eren’s jealousy hadn’t calmed down since the kiss happened. “You could have just backed out.”

“Are you kidding me?” Armin replied sternly. “It’s just a stupid game. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“You told me you used to like him and that he liked you back. I reserve the right to be worried about a game,” Eren growled, sitting beside the blonde.

Armin rolled his eyes. “Stop being a dick. He and I are in the past.”

“How can I trust that?” Eren asked. “I want to trust you, but how can I trust you when you say that? Show me how I can trust you.”

Armin grabbed Eren by his shirt and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll have sex with you.”

Eren looked at the blonde with a shocked expression before leaning in again to reconnect their lips. He grabbed Armin by the hips and placed him on the table gently and kissed his neck, his teeth grazing Armin’s pale skin. He pulled back and saw a familiar expression in Armin’s eyes. He couldn’t quite figure out who he resembled, but he didn’t care. He wanted Armin at that moment, and Armin alone.

“Should we get a room then?” Eren asked lustfully.

Armin shook his head and hopped off of the table. “I said that I would have sex with you, not that I would have sex with you right now.”

Eren pursed his lips as he looked down to see a bulge on his pelvic area. “I’ll go relieve myself from this.”

Armin stopped him and grabbed Eren’s belt. “I don’t think so.”

“I can’t walk around with this thing,” Eren said through clenched teeth.

Armin smirked and pushed him against the wall. “Allow me.”

Eren gulped quietly and nodded his head. He let Armin sink to his knees and fiddle with his belt buckle and unzip his pants. Armin rubbed where his boxers were bulging before pulling them down and sucking his exposed skin. He liked this side of Armin; it was something he never got to see. He wanted more, and Armin gave him more.

Armin took Eren to paradise until Eren pushed Armin away and climaxed with a low moan. His eyes squeezed themselves shut as a reflex and when he opened his eyes, he saw that he came on the sweet blonde, particularly in his eye.

Armin winced at the stinging sensation as he rubbed his eye. “Ew.”

“Here, let’s get you to the bathroom,” Eren said as he redressed himself.

Eren took Armin to the ground floor bathroom and helped the blonde run warm water over his open eye. They laughed about the situation and Eren shut the faucet off and placed a compress to Armin’s face. They smiled at each other and Armin giggled, making Eren blushed.

“I’m sorry,” Eren apologized. “I just didn’t know if you wanted to swallow it or not.”

“Good call,” Armin chuckled, holding Eren’s hand. “I won’t have a red-eye tomorrow, will I?”

“I can’t guarantee it,” Eren replied as he put the wet cloth into the laundry basket. “I think it’s time we went to sleep.”

Armin nodded in agreement and the two of them went back to the living room and settled into their sleeping bags. They were beside each other and had to step over Marco and Annie. Eren fell asleep right away while the blonde was still up for a bit. He saw that Krista was staring at him with a mischievous smile.

Krista curled an eyebrow at him as she asked if he had sex by making a circling and putting her finger through the hole she made. Armin shook his head and gestured that he had given Eren a blowjob, earning a nod of approval from Krista. She pointed to Ymir and made a peace but licked the space between her fingers, and Armin grimaced and laid down in his sleeping bag and forced himself to fall asleep that night.


	18. You Taste Like Lucky Strikes

Armin woke up early the next morning as the sunlight pierced through the open window. He groaned at the brightness of the Sun and sat up to see that Eren was still asleep beside him. It was only seven in the morning, but they had a long day ahead of them so he decided that Eren should be awake too.

He shook Eren’s shoulder slightly, jarring the jet-black-haired man awake. Eren groaned and sat up as he rubbed his eyes of any sleepiness. “What?” He yawned.

“I think we’re the only ones awake,” Armin whispered, though Jean and Mikasa were missing.

“We might be. Wanna wake everyone else up?” Eren asked, stretching toward the sky.

“Let them sleep for a bit,” Armin replied, standing up to get changed.

Eren smirked as he glanced at the blonde’s body. It was pale, almost a ghostly white, and he saw that those bruises were healing up as well. They worried him at first, but when he asked about them, Armin insisted that they just came from a project he was working on for one of his classes. They still made him worry, but seeing that they were healing up made him feel relieved.

Eren hadn’t realized that he was staring until Armin spoke up and grabbed his attention. “Can I help you with something?”

“Just admiring the view,” Eren replied, looking at his backside in the tight briefs he was wearing. “I’d smack ya, but that would wake everyone up.”

Armin threw his pyjama shirt at the ebony-haired teen and got dressed for the day. Jean had mentioned that they were going out somewhere warm and suggested everyone should pack summer clothes and swimsuits. Armin immediately suspected that it would be the beach and brought along sunscreen as well.

“I should get dressed too,” Eren said as he grabbed his duffle bag.

It was Armin’s turn to get an eyeful of Eren’s body. Eren was beautifully sculpted from head to toe, his back muscles catching Armin’s eye the most. He bit his lip as Eren hiked his jean shorts over his legs and stretched towards the ceiling. He felt that if God were real and was to create the perfect looking man, that creation would look exactly like Eren.

Eren turned around and smirked at the blonde. “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

Armin blushed. “Too bad I didn’t bring my camera.”

Soon, everyone else woke up periodically and got dressed. Jean and Mikasa came down from their upstairs room ready for the day and Jean quickly ushered everyone out the door. They just needed to figure out the driving situation since they didn’t have a vehicle big enough to fit all of them.

“I can drive with Mikasa, Eren, and Krista?” Jean suggested.

“I wanna hang out with Armin though!” Krista insisted, clinging to the blonde’s arm.

After copious amounts of arguing, it was finally decided. Jean would drive with Mikasa, Marco, and Eren while Armin would drive with Ymir, Krista, and Annie.

Armin followed Jean out of town in the Impala and down to the highway. It wasn’t a quiet ride as Krista and Ymir were talking and singing along to whatever was on the punk radio station. It was getting annoying but Armin knew that complaining would make Krista yell even louder. Annie, however, didn’t know this and shut off the radio to plug in her MP3 player.

“What the fuck?” Krista yelled, annoyed.

“I hate the music you play,” Annie sneered and an acoustic guitar filled the airwaves.

“Oh like this is so much fucking better,” Krista complained.

“Krista, shotgun picks the music in my car, remember?” Armin reminded her and she continued to pout in the backseat. “Is this The Beatles?”

“I can’t stand the new punk rock crap radios play nowadays,” Annie explained. “What music do you like?”

“Alternative music,” Armin replied, closely following Jean as to not get separated. “Like My Chemical Romance and Fall Out Boy.”

“Let me guess, you also write sins and not tragedies?” Annie chuckled, seeing Armin smile a little.

“I do,” Armin smirked as he followed Jean into the city. “This also isn’t a scene, but a god damn arms race.”

“Did your father take you into the city to see a marching band?” Annie laughed.

“Okay okay, we don’t go there,” Armin replied as he parked a couple of parking spaces away from Jean in a paymeter parking lot.

The four of them got out and embraced the sunshine as Jean, Mikasa, Eren, and Marco met up with them by the Impala. “Okay, Winchesters, let’s go solve a case.”

Eren made a snarky comment while Armin rolled his eyes at the Supernatural reference and followed the group through the streets of the city, taking in her glory. This was his second time in the city but his first time looking around and getting to enjoy all the buildings and neon signs had to offer. He remembered Marco saying that the city was his home and that he would always love it.

“Where to?” Krista asked excitedly.

“Let’s go shopping!” Mikasa suggested enthusiastically, pulling Jean towards the shopping center.

They stayed together as much as they could, but Mikasa was light on her feet and was at least a few feet ahead of everyone else. Armin hung back a bit to take in the bustling scenery and Eren walked alongside him and saw how Armin’s baby-blue eyes glistened with curiosity.

“Do you like it?” Eren asked.

Armin was too busy looking at everything to acknowledge Eren’s presence. He could work in settings like this, driving around in an ambulance with other paramedics. He didn’t think the job had so many perks, but now he was even more sure of his future.

“It’s all so pretty,” he muttered to himself. “It’s just as beautiful at night too.”

“Tell me more,” Eren continued speaking.

Armin jumped a little, unaware that Eren had shown up beside him but played it off as nothing happened. He rambled on and on about his last adventure with Marco as they passed through the city and went to the beach one late night and hung out there for a bit. It ended up turning into Armin describing what happened before the car crash though he glossed over the detail about him and Marco kissing.

The two caught up to the others and the group entered the mall, seeing a barrage of clothing stores and other types of services before their eyes.

“How about we split up and then meet at the food court in a few hours?” Jean suggested, and everyone else agreed.

Armin took Eren, Krista, and Ymir to Hot Topic on the second floor. Marco followed them as well, much to Eren’s disdain. The five of them were a pretty dysfunctional group in terms of liking each other, but they functioned nonetheless.

“Look at the T-Shirt wall!” Armin said gleefully. “It’s bigger than the one our store has.”

“It’s a very impressive T-Shirt wall,” Eren smiled at the blonde. “See anything you like?”

“All of it,” Armin replied. “Well, maybe just the Thnks Fr Th Mmrs shirt but the other ones look insanely cool.”

“I’m getting it for you,” Eren declared, grabbing two of the same shirt. “And you can’t say no.”

Armin pursed his lips as he nodded his head and followed Eren through the store. Everything about the place was larger. The area was larger, the T-Shirt walls were larger, even the clothing sizes were larger (They were a company that strived for body positivity.) Armin felt so small, but Eren was there to help him navigate everything.

Krista and Ymir noticed that the two males were looking at clip-in extensions emo kids wore. “Aren’t you concerned your plan will backfire on you?” Ymir asked.

“I’m honestly not and if it did, it wouldn’t be Armin’s fault,” Krista insisted. “He’s too good of a friend to do something like that.”

“I’m just getting bad vibes from those two,” Ymir wrapped her arm around Krista as they looked at the skinny jeans.

Marco was by himself over by the necklaces and earrings, watching Armin and Eren flirt with each other. It was right in front of Krista as well, though he didn’t know anything sinister was going on. He became upset at the sight of Eren blatantly hitting on Krista’s best friend. But he knew that he couldn’t stop them from doing what they were doing. He needed to finally let his feelings go. He hated living in a state of unrequited love.

Marco walked up to Armin and pulled him over to show him the bracelets while Eren was distracted. “Hey.”

“Marco, I was kind of busy,” Armin stated.

“It’s only for a few seconds,” Marco insisted, keeping tabs on Eren as he spoke. “I’m sorry for how I’ve been acting. It isn’t right; getting jealous, I mean. I’m gonna leave you alone now. You’re happier with Eren.”

“Marco,” Armin smiled but gave him a confused facial expression. “I thought you were over me? Like, you said so at the hospital.”

Marco stifled a laugh and replied, “I’m glad we agree,” and let Armin go back to Eren. His oblivion was comedic, and he dared say a little cute, but he only smiled and kept looking at the jewellery.

Once everyone paid for their purchases, They hit up a few other stores before making their way to the food court. Jean was waiting by the escalator with Mikasa and Annie and he waved Armin and the others over to them.

“I see you took the shopping part seriously,” Armin chuckled, seeing that Jean was carrying bags from various clothing stores.

“My clothes aren’t fitting me now so I have to get a whole new wardrobe,” Mikasa explained. “Jean was feeling courteous and decided to carry my stuff for me.”

“She made me do it,” Jean corrected Mikasa. “I have Annie’s stuff as well.”

“I made him carry mine too,” Annie said. “What’s for lunch?”

“I’m honestly not that hungry,” Armin spoke up, with Eren and Krista agreeing with him. “Maybe we can wait until later to get food?”

“I was gonna get something to go,” Jean said. “I’m just worried they won’t have food at the beach.”

“So we _are_ going to the beach,” Eren said. “I knew packing trunks was a good idea.”

“I told you we were going to the beach,” Mikasa reminded him. “Let’s head out!”

Eren and Marco helped Jean carry Mikasa’s things and the eight friends all walked out of the mall and down the street back to their cars. After paying the parking fee, Jean and Armin started driving to the beach.

It didn’t take long and they managed to get parking spots close to the sand. The girls went to go change in the bathroom while the guys opted to get dressed in the vehicles. Once everyone was dressed appropriately, they grabbed a blanket and found a spot close to the shoreline and sat down.

“Anyone need sunscreen?” Armin asked as he sprayed his exposed skin.

“I’ll get your back,” Eren suggested as he took the can from Armin and sprayed his pale skin. He gave him a smack on the butt and laughed as the blonde jumped.

Armin wasn’t one to go swimming. He preferred standing in the water and watching everyone else have fun from afar. This group that they had made for themselves gave the blonde joy. Eren, in particular, gave him joy. He didn’t have many friends up until that spring day in April. He had Krista to thank for everything, though she wasn’t very thankful in return…

“Not gonna come in?” Eren asked, walking back to shore. “The water’s warm!”

“I’ll stay here. I like it where I am,” Armin replied. “I don’t know how to swim.”

Eren grabbed his hand and pulled him into the water. “I’ll show you.”

Armin was weary of the ravenette’s intentions but walked into the ocean until he was waist-deep. Unfortunately, it was all a ruse on Eren’s part and he splashed Armin with a massive wave of saltwater.

Armin was almost knocked back from the impact of the water. “Oh, you’re gonna regret that!”

The two had a splashing war with Eren coming out on top. His ebony hair was drenched along with the rest of his body as he pulled the blonde closer. Eren and Armin were laughing as he held his ticklish grab on the blonde’s waist. Eren’s laughter died as he stared into Armin’s eyes. They were quiet, a tension forming between them, but as Eren leaned closer to Armin’s lips, someone interrupted them.

“Holy shit!” Marco yelled.

Eren and Armin immediately pulled away from each other and saw that Marco wasn’t talking about them. They looked at where the freckled man was pointing and saw that Jean was on one knee, holding a ring box.


	19. You Look Perfect Tonight

Jean watched from his bed as Mikasa changed into her silk pyjamas. He saw how the shorts clung to her curves as the waistband rested just under her baby bump. Seeing that bump reminded him of that night at the party, though it wasn’t feelings of guilt that were dancing in his mind. He was too excited to feel guilty.

Mikasa went to put her spaghetti strap top on but Jean spoke up in protest. “Don’t put it on yet.”

Mikasa smiled and stood in front of him topless. Jean got onto his knees and hugged her thighs as he kissed her belly. He liked to talk to the fetus on occasion when he needed to kill his depression, but this time he just wanted to say hello because he could.

“You have the best mom ever, y’ know that?” Jean’s words made Mikasa blush.

Jean looked up to see that Mikasa had started crying and immediately stood up to comfort her. “Are you okay?”

“I am, I just…” Mikasa cried into Jean’s shoulder. “You’ve done so much for me and the baby. You quit drinking, you’re on the diet with me, you’ve been taking care of me. I just wish I could do more in return…”

Jean lifted her chin so he could look into her indigo eyes. “You’re doing everything perfectly, so don’t worry about doing more, okay?”

Mikasa wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled up at Jean. “Hormones, am I right?”

Jean kissed her forehead and let her get dressed. He slid under the covers as Mikasa joined him on the other side of his bed. They weren’t tired just yet. They just wanted some alone time from everyone else downstairs. Twas the night before their big trip to the city and they needed to wind down away from the others.

“Jean…” Mikasa whispered, leaning close to him.

She climbed on top of Jean and straddled his waist. She leaned down to kiss him but didn’t part from his lips. She snuck her hand under his plaid cotton pants to trace a finger along his crotch. Mikasa looked down at Jean with sultry eyes.

Jean was never one to turn down Mikasa’s advances but he looked up at her with a worried expression. “What about the baby?”

“I think the baby will be okay,” Mikasa bit her lip as she kissed Jean again.

Mikasa pulled Jean closer and flipped their positions. She disrobed Jean as he pulled her shirt and shorts off. He kissed her all over as he travelled lower and lower down her body. He sat up as his fingers entered her body, and he looked at her and listened to the moans that escaped her mouth. She was always relatively quiet for a girl during sex, but after the pregnancy happened, her hormones were heightened and she felt more sexual desire than she usually did, and Jean loved every bit of it.

“Should I wear a condom?” Jean asked. It was a reflex he had from when they first started becoming intimate.

“I don’t think it matters much now,” Mikasa replied.

Jean angled himself and pushed into her slowly, earning a muffled cry from his girlfriend. Girlfriend. He thought of that word as he thrust into her. Why be just partners when you could be more in life? He thought about this even after finishing inside of her. One could say he was distracted if they didn’t have all the details of the situation.

Jean laid beside Mikasa and whispered, “I love you.”

She tucked strands of her jet-black hair behind her ear and smiled, “I love you too.”

Now that both of them were sufficiently tired, Jean turned off the lamp and they said their goodnights before laying their heads on their pillows and faced away from each other. Mikasa was more than content with her relationship with Jean, but Jean wanted something more and he would take those steps to make it more when they woke up.

**. . .**

Jean packed the trunk of his Maserati with everyone’s bags since he had more trunk space than Armin’s Impala did. Whenever he saw that car, he couldn’t help but think of Sam and Dean driving around saving people and hunting things. It was quite the family business, but that wasn’t important at that moment.

Mikasa noticed that Eren and Marco were giving each other sly glares from time to time and suggested that they ride in the back with her and Jean to see if they could work out their feud in a safe environment. “No complaining.”

Eren and Marco huffed but complied with her order and got into the back seat. Jean exited the driveway first and drove out of town, keeping tabs to make sure the Chevy Impala was still behind him. Mikasa wasn’t one for music on car rides but flipped the radio on per Eren’s request, setting it to some station that was playing The Killers’, _Mr. Brightside._

Eren sang along quietly to the lyrics as Marco stared out the window. The two were clearly avoiding conversations with each other.

Mikasa shut off the stereo and looked at them. “What’s going on with you guys? You’ve been weird since we played spin the bottle last night.”

Eren didn’t answer, but Marco did. “Eren’s being dramatic.”

“Am not,” Eren replied.

“Are too,” Marco retorted.

“Work your fucking differences out before we get to the city or I will pull off the highway and leave you guys at a rest stop,” Jean threatened.

Eren huffed and turned to Marco. “Can we just not talk about it?”

“No, they’re right. We need to work this out,” Marco insisted. “It’s no secret that I like Armin, okay? And I shouldn’t let how I feel get in the way and destroy the friendships I’ve built, but this is a hill I will die on. I just can’t seem to understand why Armin would like someone like you.”

“What the fuck is that supposed to me?!” Eren yelled.

“Oh calm down, asshole. It isn’t a personal attack,” Marco snapped. “You’re engaged, and you’re leading him on.”

“I’m not leading him on, I’m being his friend,” Eren insisted, staring at the cars on the highway. “I’ve been a better friend to him than you ever have. Just accept the fact that he doesn’t like you and move the fuck on with your life.”

Marco glared out the window. He knew that Eren was right, but he knew that what they were doing together was wrong. All he could say was, “I’ve been trying, but I’m reminded of the sparkle in his eyes and I just can’t forget.”

Eren muttered, “I know that feeling all too well,” and thus, their conversation had ended on better terms than when they had started.

Jean pulled off the highway and the rest of the car ride was peaceful as Vampire Weekend serenaded them four of them while Jean pulled into a parking lot in the city. Armin was close behind him and they all met up by Armin’s car.

Upon seeing the 1967 Chevy Impala, Jean couldn’t resist the joke. “Okay, Winchesters, let’s go solve a case.”

“Mikasa has been pregnant for two months and you’re already making dad jokes,” Eren groaned.

Their group dissipated slightly as they walked to the mall, with Mikasa dragging Jean there by his wrist. She was excited, mainly because she needed new clothing, but also because she could go shopping for her baby as well. She was only eight weeks into the pregnancy, but she wanted to be prepared.

“You seem excited,” Jean commented, smiling at his girlfriend.

Mikasa looked back at him and returned the smile. “I am.”

Mikasa led the rest of the group to the mall and Jean suggested splitting up and meeting again after a few hours. Annie tagged along with Mikasa and Jean as they walked to Osh Kosh B'gosh to look at some of the baby clothes they had available.

Mikasa was well ahead of the other two who lagged and made conversation. Jean couldn’t stop thinking about the night before and decided to ask Annie for some advice.

“I think I’m gonna propose to her,” Jean said quietly. They were behind Mikasa but not _that_ far behind.

“What? Why?” Annie asked quietly.

“I wanna spend the rest of my life with her. I’ve known that for a while now,” Jean explained. “I was going to ask her before we left for college but the baby kind of put a damper in those plans. At first, I thought it was this bad omen, but now I realize it makes me want her even more.”

Annie couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I wish you the best of luck.”

“Jean, come here,” Mikasa smiled, pulling him to the baby-sized dresses. “It comes in black!”

“A baby that’s always ready for a funeral? I like it,” Jean wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead. “What do you think, Annie?”

She gave a thumbs up. “Love it.”

The three of them picked out a couple of things and paid for their stuff. They made the journey across the mall, going from store to store and buying something from each one. Jean managed to sneak away and go to Pandora to buy Mikasa a ring. She loved black diamonds, but not the manufactured ones. He remembered this from a conversation they had about jewellery months ago.

Soon afterwards, they decided to head to their meetup place and wait for the others there.

“Good thing I have Jean,” Mikasa laughed as Jean struggled to carry her and Annie’s shopping bags.

Annie laughed in return and they found a place to sit in the food court. “I told Bertolt by the way, about my sexuality.”

“What did he say?” Mikasa inquired.

“He said he didn’t care and that he wanted to take me out,” Annie smiled as she tucked her blonde hair behind her ear. “I haven’t felt this excited about dating in a long time.”

“You should be excited! He likes you!” Jean had just taken a seat next to Mikasa by the time he heard their conversation. “I think you guys would make an adorable couple.”

“Should I get pregnant so we can start twinning?” Annie suggested with a hint of sarcasm.

“Oh I’m sure Bertolt would love that,” Mikasa smirked.

The three of them chatted away until Jean spotted the other five over by the food court entrance and waved them over. After some discussion and suggestions, Jean ordered takeout for himself before walking back to the parking lot with the others. Eren helped him with the bags along with Marco. He was happy to see that they were getting along again.

Their bags went into Armin’s car and they all drove to the beach for some relaxation. Once they got there, they got changed into their swimming gear and made their way to the shoreline.

Jean was too busy admiring Mikasa to go for a swim, plus he was keeping the ring in his back pocket and didn’t want it to get ruined by the salty waters. Mikasa was initially insecure about wearing a bikini to the beach since she was starting to develop a noticeable bump on her stomach but Jean insisted that she would look amazing, and he was right. Mikasa looked spectacular. This only made him seem more sure about his decision.

“Are you not going in?” Mikasa asked as she put her kimono on. “I can see why you wouldn’t want to. It’s a bit cold in there.”

Jean snapped out of his trace and stood in front of the girl with his hands in hers. “I need to tell you something and don’t worry, it’s not bad news,” Jean said.

“Okay…?” Mikasa was suspicious but listened anyway.

“When we first met, I was drawn to you. I knew that in my soul that I wanted to be with you, even if everything else in my body wasn’t aware of it.”

“Oh, Jean,” Mikasa was on the brink of tears.

“I’m not finished,” Jean continued. “You, Mikasa Ackerman, are an amazing woman that I don’t deserve to be with but I have had the privilege of falling in love with you. Now, this may be a bit sudden but I need to know…”

Jean reached into his back pocket as he kneeled before Mikasa. He heard Marco yelling but he didn’t look over. He could feel people’s eyes on him but he didn’t look at them. He looked up at Mikasa as the wind blew through her ebony hair as he asked, “Mikasa Ackerman, will you marry me?”


	20. Party Blues

Once, when she was little, a boy asked Mikasa to marry him on the school playground. She ended up kicking sand in his face and getting suspended because of it. When she returned to school the next week, the boy had lied about what happened to their classmates and everyone picked on her even more because of it.

For Mikasa, marriage left a bad taste in her mouth. She never thought she would want to be with someone that way in her life. Then, she grew up and she started separating from her brother and started gaining interest in men. Even so, after having some crappy relationships, marriage just didn’t seem like an option for her (though she was a naive and highly traumatized thirteen-year-old when she first started to worry about it.)

But now, Jean Kirschtein, her boyfriend of almost four years, was kneeling before her and holding a velvet box that contained the most beautiful black diamond ring she had ever seen. He was asking her to marry him. She was at a complete loss for words.

Jean noticed how Mikasa reacted and returned the small box to his pocket and stood up to comfort her as she cried in his arms. She wasn’t sad or upset, but happy. She also didn’t feel the urge to kick sand at him so that was a bonus for her.

She reached into his back pocket and took the ride, sliding it into her left hand and smiling up at Jean with teary eyes. “Yes!”

Jean smiled as he picked her up and spun her around as he cheered, “Oh my God! Oh my God! Guys, she said yes!”

Their friends began to gather around and congratulated them on the successful wedding proposal. All except Eren, who was making his way to Jean. His face was unreadable, and it terrified Jean to his inner core. He prepared for another Sparta kick but was met with a tight hug instead.

“Took you long enough,” he chuckled and they bumped fists.

Once the excitement had died down, everyone went back to swimming in the ocean and tossed around an inflatable beach ball. Armin was hanging back with Eren as they sat on the blanket and watched their friends have fun.

“I’m surprised you didn’t beat the shit out of him,” Armin commented as he looked at Eren.

The ravenette adjusted his sunglasses so they were resting on his head so his amber eyes were exposed. “He makes my sister happy, so why would I?”

“I’m glad you guys made up,” Armin stared at the man in question as he cuddled with Mikasa under an umbrella they had set up. “I wish I could do that.”

“What? Be gross? He’s literally making out with her,” Eren grimaced before turning back to Armin. “I mean, if I weren’t stuck in an engagement, I would do that with you everywhere.”

“Even in front of homophobes?” Armin asked.

“ _Especially_ in front of homophobes,” Eren insisted, making Armin laugh. “I’ll make them watch me hold hands with another man unless they pay me millions of dollars.”

“What would you even do with that money?” Armin put his hair into a ponytail.

“Add it to the amount of money I already have in my savings account,” Eren replied, dusting the sand off of his feet. “Join me for a swim?”

Armin pulled his shirt off of his body and followed Eren into the water. It hadn’t cooled down much since they were last in there but the sun was beating down on them harder as well. They couldn’t stay out in the water forever unfortunately and returned to the blanket and all sat in a circle.

“Lemme see!” Krista said as she pulled Mikasa’s hand closer to inspect the ring. “Ugh, it’s so fucking pretty!”

“What’s on the agenda for the rest of the night?” Ymir inquired. “I, for one, could go for a bottle of sparkling cider and maybe some wine.”

“Well, we could celebrate?” Mikasa suggested. “If you guys wanted to that is.”

“I think a party would be a great idea,” Armin spoke up. “Just no drinking though.”

“Well, now it sounds like a terrible idea,” Ymir groaned. “Not even a little bit?”

“No,” Jean said sternly. “If you don’t like it, go home.”

“Please just be okay with it?” Krista begged.

Ymir rolled her eyes. “Fine, but only for you.”

“Should we get going then?” Eren asked, slightly suspicious of Ymir’s attitude. “It’s getting to be almost sundown and we have a bit of a drive ahead of us.”

“Sure,” Jean said, helping Mikasa stand up. “Help me dust the blanket off.”

Once everything was cleaned up, the group walked back to their vehicles and split off into different groups for the ride home. Jean would be driving home with Mikasa, Annie, and Marco while Armin had to deal with Krista, Ymir, and Eren all sharing a car. Eren wanted to drive the Impala home but was told otherwise for safety reasons.

“Why does Eren get the front seat?” Krista wined.

“Because you insisted on sitting with Ymir,” Armin reminded her as he followed Jean.

“Couldn’t I sit on top of Ymir while we both ride shotgun?” Krista suggested.

“I’d rather not get pulled over,” Armin said, ending the conversation. “What do you think we’ll all do at the party?”

“Probably just watch _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_ and eat junk food,” Eren responded. “Not that I mind. My cheat day was coming up anyway.”

“What do you mean your cheat day?” Ymir asked. “Are you on a diet?”

“I’m trying to bulk up a bit before college,” Eren explained. “I don’t want to be the smallest guy there, y’ know?”

“But you don’t need to do all that,” Armin spoke up. “You’re fine.”

“I don’t like the word fine,” Eren sighed. “I wanna be hot, like those guys in workout magazines. I… I wanna look good.”

The rest of the car was in disbelief at Eren’s words, but Krista spoke up first. “I never realized you had body issues.”

“It’s not something I just like to talk about,” Eren replied. “No one takes me seriously when I do. My own dad tells me I’m in perfect physical health and that I shouldn’t worry about bulking up.”

“That’s because your dad is a doctor and he actually knows what he’s talking about,” Armin said, veering off the highway to follow Jean. “There’s nothing wrong with wanting to change how you look but you have to think realistically. Don’t change for others, Eren, because they won’t give a shit about you or how you look.”

Eren turned away and looked out the window. He knew it wasn’t a good idea to bring it up, but it wasn’t like he could take anything of it back either. Now, he was hoping he hadn’t made the car ride awkward, but their silence for the rest of the ride wasn’t helping the situation.

**. . .**

“Thanks for convincing me to buy this,” Mikasa said to Jean as she zipped up her dress. “Are you sure I don’t look fat in this?”

“No, you look amazing,” Jean replied as he hugged her from behind. “You always look amazing.”

The two of them were in Mikasa’s room, getting ready for the last-minute party Krista had suggested whilst the rest of their friends were downstairs setting everything up. Mikasa had bought a formal-looking knee-length babydoll dress, just in case she wanted to wear it when her abdomen would start to grow larger.

“Will I look amazing when I blow up like a balloon?” She smirked, knowing what his answer would be.

“Especially then,” Jean kissed the top of her head as he led her to the door of her room. “You ready to meet your guests?”

“More than ready,” Mikasa replied as she joined Jean outside her room.

Annie saw that Jean was walking down the staircase and the two switched places. Jean stood at the bottle of the staircase with a giddy smile as he waited for the signal from Annie.

“We’re ready!” Annie yelled.

“Okay!” Jean replied, turning to his friends. “May I present the lovely Mikasa Ackerman.”

Jean didn’t see the gobsmacked looks on his friends’ faces. He could only focus on his fiancée as she walked down the stairs with an elegant stride. He had never felt luckier to have Mikasa in his life.

Armin noticed that Eren was holding back tears and rubbed his back to comfort the ebony-haired teen. “She looks so beautiful.”

Eren was tearing up at the sight of his sister, but not because of how she was dressed, but because of her smile. It was a genuine smile of happiness. He could visibly see how happy Mikasa was, and it made him well up with joy.

“She looks so happy,” Eren replied, wiping his eyes with his napkin. “I just haven’t seen her this happy in a long time.”

The party carried on and everyone got their chance to talk to the happy couple and soon everyone was off doing their own thing with other people. Armin was in the corner, staring at Eren as he and Krista engaged in a conversation together. He felt a sense of jealousy, and considering that Krista was just using Eren as a cover-up for her sexuality, he had every right to experience that emotion.

Mikasa noticed and excused herself from her discussion with Marco to go talk to Armin. “Want me to run interference on Krista?”

“Yes please,” Armin replied.

They bumped fists and Armin watched as the ravenette walked over to Eren and Krista. He waited until the girls were both gone before walking up to Eren and suggesting that they go somewhere private.

Armin took Eren to the ground floor bathroom and locked the door, letting his instincts take over. He pushed Eren against the sink and kissed him as he wrapped his arms around his neck. The blonde went to pull his shirt off, but Eren pushed him away.

“Eren?” Armin asked, seeing that Eren had an intense glare on his face. “Eren, what’s up?”

Eren felt an immense amount of guilt as he adjusted his clothing. He had just spoken with Krista only minutes before. They brought up the wedding, and Eren imagined how she would look in her wedding dress (though he didn’t know what it looked like) and he realized the gravity of his situation with Armin. He had always been against cheating and then he cheated on the woman he was in love with because he was there. He had no excuse for what he did and walked to the door.

Before leaving Armin alone in the bathroom, he told the blonde, “Maybe we should just stay friends.”

Those words stung, and again he followed his instincts and pushed past Eren to find the centre of everything going on: Krista Lenz.

Krista was off by herself after having a weird conversation with Mikasa about children when Armin approached her and said, “We need to talk.”

“Did Eren find out?” Krista whispered.

“No, but I want him to find out,” Armin replied. “I think we should tell him about what’s going on.”

“Armin, you know I can’t let that happen,” Krista snapped. “What happened to trying to win him over?”

“He got upset and I know it was because of you,” Armin explained. “Please, we need to tell him before everything-”

“Before everything what?” Krista accidentally shouted.

The yelling attracted Eren’s attention and he stood in between the two blondes. “What’s going on?”

Krista panicked and knowing Armin was going to ruin her plans, she spoke up first. “Armin tried to touch me!”

Armin, stunned, looked at Krista with his mouth agape. “What the fuck? Eren, I swear, I would never-!”

Eren was too enraged to listen to Armin and pulled Krista away from him. “You should go.”

Armin started to walk closer. “Eren, I’m serious, I wouldn’t-”

“Just go!” Eren yelled as he shoved Armin away, sending him to the floor.

Armin stood up and ran to the door to drive home while Eren told everyone what had just happened, and once everyone knew, the group was torn in half but shared the feeling of disbelief as Krista lied about the details of their fight. Krista felt ashamed about throwing Armin under the bus with lies but she couldn’t risk the plan being ruined, even if it meant losing her friend.

While Armin was outside fiddling with his car keys, Marco ran outside. He saw Armin leave in tears and ran to see if he was okay. Upon seeing Armin struggle to unlock his car and crumble to the gravel as he sobbed, Marco could tell that he was not okay.

Marco ran up to the blonde and helped him back onto his feet. “Want me to drive us back home?”

Armin nodded his head and handed the keys off to Marco. He sat in the passenger’s seat as Marco booted up the Impala and the two of them drove back home in uncomfortable silence.

Armin ran inside once the car stopped in their driveway and headed to his room to cry into his pillow. “Why does everything I go near get fucked up?”

Marco was by his side and rubbed circles into his back. “Armin that isn’t remotely true.”

Armin wasn’t listening to his friend. He was too deep into his depressive thoughts to pull himself out. He lost Eren and the rest of his friends, those memories he had with Eren were now tainted with misery. He lost everything he built up, and it was all because of Krista’s pride.


	21. Life's Too Short To Even Care At All

Wednesday arrived as everyone was gearing up for exams as well as Sasha’s graduation party. Students were discussing what they were going to wear, what presents they were going to bring the hostess and other things along those lines. Everyone was excited for the chance to relieve themselves of their schoolwork and start their summer with a bang.

Armin, however, was not. He didn’t have anyone to talk about plans with because of the massive blowout at Jean’s house. He only had Marco and he wasn’t even going to the party. Armin was working for the party as well, meaning he would have to serve the people that despised his existence, all because of Krista, the girl he thought was his friend.

Marco watched as Armin paced the length of the floor and grew irritated. He hated seeing Armin worry over things and he threw the paintbrush he was using at Armin, the paint on the bristles splattering the wall on impact.

“Can you stop doing that?” Marco begged. “You know how much I hate it when people do that.”

“I can’t stop worrying,” Armin replied, continuing his pacing. “Krista or Jean could say something and then I’m toast at school!”

“We only have a few weeks left, why worry?” Marco asked.

“I could get expelled, Marco, and then there goes my university,” Armin continued to worry. “What if it gets to my university? I could get rejected and thrown from residence-!”

Marco grabbed Armin’s biceps and looked into his pale blue eyes. “Those guys aren’t petty people. They wouldn’t do something like that to mess up your future, much like how you never touched Krista. Stop worrying about it, okay? It’s going to kill you.”

Armin frowned and nodded his head. “I’m sorry…”

“Just relax, okay?” Marco insisted, putting his supplies away. “We gotta get to school. Should I drive or you?”

Armin shrugged as he grabbed his backpack. “You can if you want to.”

After saying goodbye to Gwenny and Mari, the boys walked to Armin’s car and got in. Marco had earned the trust of his parents enough that he was allowed to start driving again, provided that someone was always in the car with him. He was getting better at driving with only one working arm as well, and Armin would encourage him whenever he needed to hear it most.

Marco pulled into the school parking lot and spotted an empty slot, feeling slightly more nervous with every inch closer he was getting to the vacant area. “Should I let you park?”

“You’ve been doing fine during practice,” Armin replied.

“But that was with the driveway and no other cars around, this is a high school parking lot packed with cars,” Marco started biting his nails. “Can you park for me?”

Armin sighed and unbuckled his seatbelt. “Just this once, but you gotta learn to do it yourself.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Marco smiled as he got out of the car.

They switched sides and Armin pulled into the parking spot with ease. They got out and grabbed their bags and made the journey over to the cafeteria. It was relatively empty with the occasional student hiding in a corner, but a certain group caught Armin’s eye and he started to feel his lungs tighten up.

“Jean and Krista are over there,” Armin whispered.

“Wanna sit somewhere else?” Marco whispered back.

“Let’s,” the blonde answered and the two quickly exited the cafeteria.

In the cafeteria, things were awkward between Krista and Jean. They were waiting for Marco to arrive so the three of them could review their exams together but Marco hadn’t been answering Krista’s texts and wouldn’t leave Armin’s side. Krista was starting to wonder what had gotten into Marco to want to be friends with a traitor.

“He’s not skipping school, is he?” Krista wondered, leaning back in her chair.

“He better not be with that asswipe of a human being,” Jean growled.

“He probably is…” She hated hearing how Jean spoke about him but she knew she had to pretend it was okay so her lie wouldn’t be uncovered.

“Still can’t believe he thought that it was okay to do that,” Jean crossed his arms. “I mean, you’re engaged for fuck sake.”

“Let’s not dwell on what the traitor did,” Krista insisted, looking at her phone to see zero replies from Marco. “Where could Marco even be?”

The man in question was sitting with Armin in the gully behind their school where the stoner kids hung out. It was the only place on school grounds where the blonde felt safe since Marco would never hurt him and the smokers were often too high to care about any outsiders joining them in the gully. They would even offer them chewing tobacco and marijuana, but Armin would always decline because the second-hand smoke was enough to get him high.

Marco took a drag of his reefer, holding his smoke in before setting it free to the sky. “Never thought that this is how I’d spend my mornings now.”

“Don’t we deserve a break?” Armin said whilst going over his notes for class, earning a confused look from his freckled friend. “What? I’m getting as much done before I get high.”

Marco shrugged and continued smoking. “You ever tried this stuff before?”

Armin shook his head. “I had only just tried alcohol a couple of months ago.”

“I won’t make you if you don’t want to,” Marco laid on his back and stared up at the sky, the smoke in his lungs entering his vision every so often.

Armin smirked and laid down beside him. “I never said I didn’t want to.”

Marco curled an eyebrow at him but passed the reefer over to him anyway. “Breathe in, hold it in your lungs, and then breathe out. And don’t kill yourself, please and thank you.”

Armin rolled his eyes and brought the reefer to his mouth. “Oh please, I’m not that bad–”

Marco laughed as the blonde started coughing uncontrollably and he took the reefer away. “Oh really?”

“I’m...good...at...smoking,” Armin coughed. “I’m...never gonna..do that again though.”

“You better not,” Marco replied as Armin passed the reefer back to its owner. “Should we go inside?”

“I think so,” Armin said, still coughing a bit. “I need some water. Let’s hope I can concentrate in class today.”

“I think you’ll be just fine,” Marco smiled, patting Armin on the back a couple of times.

This action made Armin’s heart skip a beat. Normally, Marco’s behaviour didn’t make him nervous; if anything it made him feel less lonely. This time, however, was different as he stood onto his feet and walked with Marco back to the school. He figured it was only nothing and shrugged it off as casual paranoia over the friendship debacle he was currently having.

“Ready to face the day?” Marco asked, his smile still shining through.

Armin sheepishly replied, “As long as I don’t run into Krista, I think we’ll be fine. Luckily, we don’t share any classes this semester.”

Marco wrapped an arm around the nervous blonde as he walked him inside. “I think you’ll be just fine.”

**. . .**

At the Yeager household, Eren, Mikasa and Annie were reading over English notes with Krista and Jean’s help. There was a bit of tension in the room as everyone had their noses in their books and their eyes on their papers. No one would say anything because of the elephant in the room: Krista’s relationship with Armin which was now in shambles. Marco wasn’t even there to make things less awkward.

Mikasa was the first to look around at her friends, specifically Eren. He was particularly buried in his school work and not speaking. He was always the first person to clear any awkward tension but it was almost like he was causing it this time around. She knew she couldn’t just bring it up out of nowhere, but she didn’t want to have to suffer through it any longer than she needed to.

“So,” Mikasa spoke up. “How about we put the books away and play a board game?”

“Wait, you _want_ to play a board game?” Jean asked, surprised. “I usually have to beg you to put your books away and play with me but you actually want to this time?”

“I’m not about to argue,” Annie chuckled, throwing her school work aside. “What did you have in mind?”

Mikasa reached over to her nightstand and pulled out a stack of cards from the drawer. “Monopoly, anyone?”

Without any negotiations, everyone sat in a circle on Mikasa’s bedroom floor as she dealt out one thousand five hundred dollars to everyone. “Okay, so any money that comes from the income tax and luxury tax spaces goes into the middle for when someone lands on free parking, and the same goes for any of the cards. Everyone in agreement?”

“As long as _somebody_ doesn’t cheat,” Jean smirked down at Krista who punched him lightly in the arm. “Let’s start!”

Everyone grabbed their pieces and once everything was set up, Jean rolled the dice, and a few hours flew by in what to the group of friends only felt like a few minutes. They were arguing, laughing, and having a good time, everyone was except for Eren who felt like something was missing from their dynamic. He couldn’t ignore the feeling of someone being missing, a certain someone in particular.

Krista noticed that Eren was taking his turn and shook him out of his daze. “Hey, what’s up?”

Eren shook his head a little and picked up the dice. “It’s not important.”

Everybody else kept an eye on him until the game was over and everyone started counting their money and property values up. Mikasa pulled Eren aside as the others started cleaning up and gave him a wellness check.

“You’ve been like this since we started studying together, what’s going on?” Mikasa asked.

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Eren replied. “I need to help clean-”

Mikasa grabbed his arm before he could walk away. “I think they’ll be just fine, now tell me what’s up.”

Eren sighed and stepped out into the hallway with her. “It’s about Armin and Marco not being here…”

“I thought you were mad at them,” Mikasa said. “I can call them up right now if you want me to.”

“Don’t, this is just something I need to handle on my own,” Eren insisted. “I don’t think Armin actually did anything to Krista.”

“Wait, what? You don’t believe your own fiancée?” Mikasa asked. “How could you not believe her?”

“Because she didn’t have the same fear in her eyes that you did after the same thing happened to you,” Eren explained. “And Marco is only avoiding us because he likes Armin.”

Mikasa let those words sink in as Eren walked back to the others. She walked to her desk to grab her phone and made her way downstairs as she dialled Marco’s phone number, who picked up after a few seconds of listening to the ringback tone, only getting his voicemail in return.

 _Maybe he’s mad at us for ditching Armin,_ she thought as she spoke after the beep.

“Hey, Marco. It’s Mikasa. I wanna talk about everything that’s happened,” she said. “Just call me back when you can. I don’t wanna lose our friendship…”

She hung up her phone and walked back into her room where everyone was getting ready to watch _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days._ “Really? Again?”

“What? It’s a good movie,” Eren defended. “Why did you leave the room?”

“It’s not important. Let’s just watch the movie,” Mikasa insisted, sitting down beside Jean.

 _I completely understand why you would want to though, Marco…_ But Marco wasn’t answering because he was mad at her though, he wasn’t answering because something else was taking up his time. More like _someone_ else was taking up his time.


	22. Don't Let Me Dream Alone

Marco laid back onto his bed as Armin searched through his CD collection for something to listen to. The freckled teen watched him place a CD into their music player, listening to the opening song for Fall Out Boy’s _From Under The Cork Tree_ album filled his eardrums with camera clicks and electric guitar chords. He never really got into this band but this was something Armin would play all the time so he had gotten used to hearing Patrick Stump’s vocals.

“You need something?” Armin asked, breaking Marco out of his trance.

“What’s this one again?” Marco asked, recovering from spacing out as best as he could.

“Our Lawyers Made Us Change The Name Of This Song So We Wouldn’t Get Sued,” Armin replied. “Yeah, it’s a long title.”

“Well, it’s certainly a unique one,” Marco smiled. “You gonna pick up a book and study with me?”

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Armin said, grabbing his notes and textbooks. “I was just looking for music to listen to.”

Marco shrugged and let Armin sit across from him on the bed. His eyes were trained on his college ruled paper and would often fixate on Armin’s blonde hair and sky blue irises, but he would catch himself right away and look back at his handwriting before anything could happen.

In recent days, Armin had been attaching himself to Marco. He would never leave his side unless they had class and would always find their way back to each other in the end. He couldn’t help but think of rekindling their brief fling before the car crash, but he knew that wanting to date Armin would only confuse the blonde. He said he was over him but that was only because he wanted Armin to feel happy with Eren and now that wasn’t going to happen.

 _What’s the harm in bringing it up?_ Marco thought to himself.

He was about to say something but Armin cut him off. “Remember when we kissed on the beach?”

Marco smiled. “You thought I was straight.”

“I’m kind of oblivious at times,” the blonde replied. “I thought Mikasa was Chinese instead of Japanese.”

“I’m surprised you’re still alive after saying that!” Marco laughed. “She used to be defensive about that stuff.”

“I would be too if everyone kept telling me I was a different nationality,” Armin said, looking at Marco intently.

Neither of the boys spoke for a few seconds and only stared at each other. Marco’s heart started to race as did Armin’s. The blonde felt himself start to shift closer to Marco as he stared at his lips. He didn’t know this at the time, but Armin wanted the same thing Marco did and closed the gap between their lips.

Armin pulled away with a faded scarlet on his face. “I…”

Marco, unable to resist, pulled Armin closer and kissed him again. He ran his fingers through the blonde’s hair as their tongues intertwined. Armin crawled on top of Marco and straddled his waist as they kissed each other again and again. Armin pulled away as he remembered that they didn’t close the door and Gwenny and Mari were home.

“I’ll get the door,” Armin blushed as he stood up.

Armin shut the door silently and returned to Marco. He sat at the edge of the bed as the freckled teen sat beside him and both were feeling mildly awkward about what they had just done. Armin had never felt closer to someone than when he was with Marco but he wondered why he had only just started feeling this way about him.

“Should we stop?” Marco asked, hoping for Armin to say what he wanted.

Armin was in a mess of his own emotions. He knew he wanted Marco but he knew that would make everything about their situation complicated. He didn’t fight his desires and connected his lips with Marco, certain that they weren’t going to get any studying done that night.

**. . .**

Jean had ended up staying the night after Krista and Annie left. While Eren disliked the decision, he knew saying something would only spark a fight between himself and his sister so he just brushed it off. It wasn’t like he could get Mikasa pregnant again.

Eren woke up the next morning and got up to get dressed and brush his teeth. He wasn’t excited about going to school since it would be exam preparation and his teachers would be even more strict than usual. He was nearly finished high school and getting ready to move away to university while also dealing with getting married in a few weeks. He just had to survive high school and graduate so he could move on to the next phase of his life.

Eren grabbed his backpack and filled it up with his school supplies as he walked down to the kitchen where Mikasa was making breakfast. “Morning.”

“Morning,” she replied. “Want leftover pizza for breakfast?”

“Is it normal pizza or vegan pizza?” Eren asked.

“Normal pizza. Jean and I ate the last of the vegan one this morning,” Mikasa explained.

“Speaking of Jean, where is the soon-to-be father?” Eren questioned as he threw a slice into the microwave.

“He left a few minutes ago for school,” his sister said.

Eren shrugged in response as he freed the pizza slice from the microwave and took a bite. He looked back on how the study group went the previous night. Krista was unusually quiet as they played Monopoly, not freaking out whenever she bankrupted someone or even when she won the game. He and Krista had also been distant towards each other ever since the night of Jean and Mikasa’s engagement party. He knew it had something to do with the fallout between her and Armin, but he didn’t know how to approach it without upsetting either one of them.

“Whatcha thinking?” Mikasa asked when she noticed her brother spacing out.

Eren finished his pizza and threw out the crust. “Our friend group has a weird vibe to it right now.”

“I noticed that too,” Mikasa agreed. “I miss the good times we had.”

Mikasa’s eyes lit up as she turned to face Eren with a bright smile on her face. “What if we all got together?”

“Like, including Armin and Marco? Krista would never go for it,” Eren responded.

“It’s worth a shot though!” Mikasa insisted. “C’mon, don’t you wanna see Armin again?”

“After how I treated him, he probably wouldn’t even look at me,” Eren solemnly stated.

“You can always just apologize to him,” Mikasa was adamant about Eren and Armin talking again since it meant there would be a chance of the two going out.

“Alright, alright. Can you send out the message though? Everyone is more likely to listen to you,” Eren said.

“Will do!” Mikasa smiled and grabbed her backpack. “Give me a ride to school?”

“Not gonna walk this time?” Eren smiled.

“Not this time, no,” she slipped her shoes on and adjusted her shorts. “The baby is being mean.”

“You’re still throwing up?” Eren asked, escorting his sister to their car.

“A little bit, and it’s making my shorts harder to wear,” She complained, strapping herself into the front seat. “And my bra stopped fitting.”

The siblings talked about her pregnancy for the rest of the car ride with Eren zoning out from time to time. He couldn’t stop thinking about having to meet Armin and Marco after not speaking to either one of them for days. It made him anxious, so anxious that he nearly ran a red light and scared Mikasa.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Eren apologized.

“Maybe you should stay home today? You seem out of it,” Mikasa suggested.

“I’ll drop you off and call in sick then…” Eren sighed, pulling into the parking lot and letting Mikasa out before pulling out and returning home to rest for the day.

Mikasa walked into the school, met with stares and gossip from everyone that saw her. Word had gotten around about Mikasa’s weight gain and people were able to put two and two together and she was outed as being pregnant at her school. The only positive was that she received fewer comments about her race but ended up having to deal with being called a slut by everyone.

“Over here!” Mikasa heard Annie yell.

Annie was standing by her locker and greeted Mikasa with a smile. “You’re usually here earlier than this.”

“Slept in a bit and Eren had to give me a ride to school,” Mikasa explained as she opened her locker. “Did you get home safe last night?”

“I managed on the bus,” Annie replied, fixating on the girls across the hallway whispering about Mikasa.

Mikasa noticed as well and flipped them off. “Cunts.”

“Agreed,” Annie added. “Remember Bertolt?”

“Obviously! Why?” Mikasa inquired, shutting her locker door.

“We just started dating,” Annie expressed with a smile. “He’s totally supportive and everything.”

“That’s awesome!” Mikasa hugged her friend tightly, readjusting her shorts shortly afterwards. “Sorry, the baby is being an asshole.”

“Here, tell me all about it on the way to the refectory…”

Annie and Mikasa linked arms and walked to the lunchroom as the ravenette went into detail about her rough pregnancy. She appreciated having a female friend around who would actually listen and offer advice. Annie was also a better candidate since she was looking to become a doctor when she graduated high school. The two considered this practice for when she was going to have patients going through pregnancy.

Mikasa then started explaining Eren’s idea of everyone getting together to hang out but saw that Annie was apprehensive about the idea. “You don’t think it’s a good idea?”

“I mean, I’m all for it, but what about Krista?” Annie stated.

“If she doesn’t go for it, she doesn’t go for it. I’m not going to force her to show up,” Mikasa explained. “I just thought it would be good to see if everyone would want to hang out and see if we can save our friendship before we all separate for good.”

The bell rang and the two girls stood up to get to class.

“Just let me know when and I’ll be there,” Annie said before heading to her first class.

Mikasa waved her off and made her way to her English class. She had a few minutes before the lesson started and used that time to send a mass text to the group about what she was planning and sat back and waited for their replies to come in.

 _I just hope this works…_ She sighed as her teacher walked in to begin the exam preparation.


	23. Your Little Brother Never Tells You But He Loves You So

Armin looked down at his phone after feeling it buzz in his pocket. He figured it was probably Marco and thought it could wait until lunch and they could talk in person rather than secretly texting each other during class. He didn’t think it was worth the risk of having his phone getting taken away.

He froze in place.  _ But what if it’s someone else? _

His fear of missing out had kicked in but he resisted the temptation and kept working on his studying. It wasn’t like anyone else talked to him anymore so it could only be from Marco. He shrugged it all off though and focused back on his studies before he could look at his phone.

When the school bell rang for lunch, Armin packed up his things and walked to the cafeteria to meet up with Marco. He wasn’t too hard to find since he stood out like a sore thumb with his height and his freckled complexion, leading Armin to spot him near the back of the room. He walked over and took a seat across from Marco.

“Did you text me during class?” Armin asked.

“No?” Marco answered. “I got a text from Mikasa though. She wants us all to hang out tomorrow.”

Armin checked his phone and noticed he had gotten the same text from Mikasa as Marco did. “Does she mean everyone as in everyone?”

“Seems like it,” a male voice said out of nowhere.

The two looked to Armin’s left and saw that Jean was standing with them. “I got the same text. Seems like Mikasa is done with the whole feud thing.”

Marco curled an eyebrow. “You gonna go?”

“I’m going purely to keep her safe,” Jean explained, glaring down at Armin. “She hasn’t been having the greatest week. Her pregnancy is getting to be a bit much.”

“I guess we’ll see you there then,” Marco replied.

Jean walked off, leaving Marco agitated and Armin on the verge of a breakdown. The blonde managed to calm himself down though and turned to Marco.

“Does that mean Eren and Krista are going to be there?” Armin asked.

“I would assume so,” Marco replied. “I think you’ll be fine though.”

Armin wasn't convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Totally," Marco smiled.

"Alright, if you say so," Armin looked at his paper as he wrote down scientific formulas with his pencil. "What's on the agenda tonight?"

Marco offered a solution that was risky to the blonde. "Wanna go out for a drink?"

“Like, alcohol?” Armin whispered and Marco nodded his head. “You wanna go to a bar? We’re not old enough.”

“I know a way around that. C’mon, it’ll be so fun!” Marco insisted. “I promise nothing bad will happen.”

“You mean other than being arrested?”

Marco rolled his eyes. “I promise that won’t happen.”

“Are you sure?” Armin asked.

“Of course.” Marco grabbed the blonde’s hand and stared into his icy blue eyes. “I’d never let anything like that happen to you.”

A nervous blush crept onto Armin’s face as he grasped the freckled hand tighter. “Okay. Just help me figure out what to wear.”

“I’ll try my best. I’m not a stylist.”

Marco’s grip remained tight on Armin’s hand as the two enjoyed the rest of their lunch together. After making a plan on how they were going to get into a bar, they went further into detail on what to do and what not to do. Armin tried to not look nervous but he couldn’t help it.

Marco noticed the fear in his lover’s eyes and squeezed his hand tighter. “Nothing’s gonna happen.”

Armin gulped. “Okay.”

The bell rang and Marco and Armin had to separate from each other until the end of the day which ended up taking forever to arrive. Armin’s classes didn’t usually feel as long as they felt then since he always found a way to enjoy everything during his time spent in his classrooms, but this time he constantly stared at the clock, waiting for the time to pass. He barely got any work done as a result of it.

His classes did end and the bell signalling the end of school rang, prompting Armin to bolt from his desk and run to the outside world where Marco would be. Surely enough, Marco was standing at the Impala with his backpack slung over his shoulder. He was wearing gym clothing which implied that he had just finished working out.

Armin noticed how Marco’s shirt clung to his body as the freckled teen glistened in the sunlight.  _ Holy fuck… _

“Yo, Armin!” Marco waved him over.

Armin ran over, nearly tripping on a speed bump, and launched his body into Marco and wrapped his arms around him. “Ready to go?”

“Totally,” Marco eagerly got into the passenger’s seat.

Armin sat in the driver’s seat and buckled up before driving away from the school towards their house. Upon being in a hotbox of a car with post-workout Marco, Armin didn’t enjoy the smell of his passenger that much. He caught a glimpse of his glowing skin once again out of the corner of his eye and he saw how close Marco’s skin colour was to Eren’s (minus the freckles, of course.)

_ No, he doesn’t remind you of him,  _ Armin thought, focusing back on driving.

Picking up the speed enough to scare Marco, Armin raced home and pulled into the driveway. He was now even more pumped for his night out with his friend. They had to wait until sundown for them to prepare for the night they were going to have.

Using movies to pass the time as well as card games, the day turned into night. They didn’t notice right away as they weren’t watching a movie for the last lingering hour of the sunset. Their eyes weren’t even open.

Armin was in the middle of having a quick nap before he was shaken awake by Marco. “What?”

“It’s time to head out,” Marco replied in a whisper. “Get dressed.”

“Okay,” Armin groaned.

The blonde went to his dresser and rummaged around in the drawers to see if anything would be worthy of wearing in a bar. He didn’t even know the theme of the establishment which made it harder for him to find something to wear, so he turned to Marco and observed him and his outfit of choice.

“Where are we going exactly?” Armin asked.

“A gay bar on the outskirts of town,” Marco explained. “It’s a favourite place of mine.”

“You’ve been there before?” Armin wondered if that was why Marco had said to not worry about getting into the bar.

Marco adjusted the denim jacket he was wearing and buckled up the leather belt around the waist of his Uniqlo pants. “I have and I’m cool with everyone there so I can get us in.”

Feeling inspired, Armin grabbed a pair of black jeans and one of his sacred My Chemical Romance t-shirts and changed into them as Marco waited by the door for him to finish. He couldn’t see this from his bed, but Marco stared lustfully at Armin as he stripped out of his clothes and down to his underwear. He finished getting dressed and turned around, his eyes connecting with Marco’s.

“Ready to go?” Armin asked.

“Definitely,” Marco replied, shooting the blue-eyed teen a half-smile.

The two men waited outside chatting about what they were going to experience while they were waiting for their taxi to pick them up and even while they were on their way to the bar. Armin was still very new to drinking and received the rundown by Marco as they sat in the cab, instructed to always stay by Marco’s side and never leave his drink unattended. It was for his protection.

The taxi parked outside on the street corner and Marco handed him ten dollars before he and Armin stepped out onto the street. The young blonde was in awe of the bright lights and the friendly aura as people waved and said hello.

“Let’s go in!” Armin said excitedly, dragging Marco to the entrance.

They passed the bouncer who didn’t give them a second look as Armin pulled Marco inside. Armin was blinded by the disco lights and stared at the many patrons in the booths and the bar. He felt safe in this building and even safer with someone by his side to guide him through this new experience.

Marco brought Armin up to the bar where everyone was welcoming and fawning over the young blonde to an extent. He glanced over and saw how everyone wanted to interact with Armin and even wanted to buy him drinks. Although Marco thought it was nice that he was having a good time talking to everyone, his jealousy kicked in and threw an arm around him to signal that he wasn’t there alone.

“A Molson Candian for me,” Marco said to the bartender. “What are you having?”

Armin stared up at the chalkboard on the wall, seeing the one option he recognized. “I’ll have a Sex On The Beach.”

Their drinks didn’t take long and soon they clinked their glasses together and had their first sips of the night. The taste of citrus lingered on Armin’s lips as he went back on for another gulp of his cocktail.

Marco saw how much Armin was drinking and became extremely nervous. “Don’t kill yourself, okay?”

Armin nodded in return. “I’ll be responsible tonight. Don’t worry!”

That statement went completely out the window for both Armin and Marco as they started ordering more drinks more frequently. The night began to blur in Armin’s mind as he clung to Marco and danced with his seventh cocktail in hand. He could feel people crowding around him but he didn’t pay any attention to the other patrons on the dancefloor. He was only looking at Marco and letting his drunken fantasies play through his mind.

Armin finished his drink and pulled Marco closer to him as Dance, Dance by Fall Out Boy boomed through the sound system in the bar. They only had eyes for each other, forgetting that everyone else was in the room, and Armin stood on his toes and kissed Marco before pulling away and asking, “Wanna get out of here?”

Without hesitation, Marco paid their bill and the two escaped from the queer establishment into the city once again. Marco could barely keep his hands and his lips off of Armin as he waved a taxi on the street over to them. The two got inside and Marco handed the man a twenty-dollar bill and rode in the backseat back to their house. Armin was trying to contain his giggling and could tell the driver was silent judging them from the front seat. It wasn’t like he cared though and neither did Marco.

Upon arriving home, Armin practically pulled Marco out of the yellow car and rushed to the door. The two of them opened the front door as quietly as they could and crept across the floor to their room without alerting Gwenny and Mari. The two of them giggled as they tugged at each other’s clothing and their own to try and get one another undressed.

Marco laid Armin down as he tugged his shirt off and threw it to the floor, exposing Armin’s milky white skin. “Fuck…”

“Don’t keep me waiting,” Armin whispered, pulling Marco into a kiss as he unbuckled the belt around his waist.

It wasn’t long before they were both completely naked in Marco’s bed exchanging drunken kisses and took turns pleasuring each other before they were both ready for the inevitable. Marco was nervous while Armin was eager and practically begged for it. Looking into his partner’s blue eyes reassured himself that he wasn’t making a mistake.

_ This is meant to be…  _ Marco reached for his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of lubrication and a condom packet.  _ It’s what I’ve been wanting ever since I first laid my eyes on him… _

From the sound of Armin’s voice to the grip Marco had on his blanket, time and space became obsolete as they thrived in each other’s company. Armin clawed into Marco’s back as he moaned into his chest to keep quiet, though Marco didn’t want him to keep quiet. Marco had to sacrifice hearing Armin scream so they didn’t wake his mothers up and get themselves into a sticky situation that would be hard to explain their way out of.

As Armin was reaching his climax, his grip became tighter and he looked into Marco’s hickory brown eyes. There was sweat dripping from Marco’s forehead and his hair was plastered to his skin. Armin felt like he was in a fantasy, causing his mind to wander to the thought of Eren Yeager and his mind focused on Eren committing sexual acts as he reached his summit.

Marco felt a sudden tightness around his member and finished soon after, grunting as he pulled away from the blonde and sat at the edge of the bed. He was struck with fatigue and snuck into the kitchen and threw the condom away before grabbing a cloth from it’s designated drawer and wiping his hands and crotch off. He walked back into his room and threw the dirtied cloth into his laundry basket and saw that Armin was practically falling asleep on his bed.

Marco bit his lip.  _ I picked the right person to be in love with. _

He smiled, feeling more in love than he ever thought he could in his life, and walked over and kissed his temple. “Thank you, Armin.”

Armin was busy in dreamland imagining someone completely different than Marco. Someone who had a rivalry with Marco. Eren Yeager wouldn’t leave his thoughts alone and did even dirtier things to him and all he could do was lay back and enjoy the show going on in his mind for the rest of the night.


	24. How Did This Get Underneath My Skin

Marco woke up the next morning to a slightly altered field of vision. The curtains were open, allowing sunlight to glare at them through the window, and he was looking at his belongings from the other side of the room. He was confused at first but soon memories of the previous night flooded his mind as he instantly remembered what happened that led up to him sleeping in Armin’s bed.

He groaned, a headache pounding his brain, and sat up and stretched his arms towards the ceiling. “We’re probably late for school.”

Not wanting to wake the blonde up, Marco slowly and silently walked to his dresser to grab underwear, socks, shorts, and a t-shirt and he sat down and got dressed. Armin wasn’t under the blankets like Marco was and would shift in his sleep, and it didn’t leave much to Marco’s imagination. It triggered a series of callbacks to their first time together and it caused Marco to blush.

He stared at Armin and he couldn’t stop. “I should probably wake him up.”

He walked over and shook the blonde lightly, and he stirred awake as a yawn escaped his lips. “Wake up.”

“Hmm?” Armin hummed. “Oh, morning.”

“Morning to you too. I think we might have slept through our first-period classes,” Marco stood up and turned away so he could hide the blush on his face. “Still wanna go to school?”

Armin looked down, finally noticing that he was naked, and covered himself with the blanket. “Sure. Can you throw me some underwear?”

Marco curled an eyebrow at Armin’s tense aura but went through his drawers and found him something to put on. He recognized that Armin was embarrassed as he watched him put his underwear on underneath the blanket and decided to let it go rather than make things even more awkward than they already were.

Armin got out of bed and walked to his dresser and got dressed in some black jeans and a Fall Out Boy band shirt. “Hey…”

“Yeah?” Marco spoke up as he packed his art supplies and Dungeons & Dragons books into his bookbag.

Armin looked from his black cropped haircut to his choice in socks, lingering on his waist and where the hem of his shirt met the middle of the zipper on his jean shorts. “About what we did last night… Was it good for you?”

Marco pursed his lips and blushed, nodding his head. “It wasn’t how I pictured my first time but not everything goes according to plan.”

“I didn’t know you were a virgin,” Armin said as he felt his face getting hotter. “Did you want to lose it to me?”

“To be honest, I did. Maybe not this fast but yes,” Marco replied, the blush on his cheeks intensifying. “Did you want to?”

Armin only replied by nodding his head as he put the finishing touches on his look for school. He didn’t answer verbally because he didn’t know the answer to that question either. At the moment, he wanted anything and everything about Marco, but now that he was sober and fighting a terrible migraine, he was second-guessing the decision he made about having sex with Marco. He didn’t know if he liked him and getting drunk made it all even worse for him.

_ I’ll figure something out,  _ Armin thought as he packed his bag up with his school supplies and followed Marco out to the Impala so that they could get to school.

**. . .**

Jean arrived at school early that morning to get some much-needed studying done before his classes started for the day. As much as he wanted to skip and hang out with Mikasa all day, he knew she would get upset at him for skipping class right before their final exams. He wanted to show her that he would be a good father to their future child, despite her already believing that he would be.

His phone vibrated against the table and Jean picked it up to see that Mikasa had texted him, writing,  _ Our appointment got moved up from lunch to my first-period class. Would that be an issue at all? _

Jean admired the way she would text him. She always used proper English, unlike other people he knew and was always very direct in her answers. He didn’t have to guess what she was thinking because she would just tell him right away if anything was going on and he couldn’t help but smile at that.

He typed back on the keyboard,  _ Not at all! I’ll pick you up in a bit :^) _ , packed up his books and walked to the parking lot to find his Maserati.

It wasn’t a long drive from his school to Mikasa’s school and he found her waiting outside on a bench under a birch tree. The branches of the tree swayed in the light breeze. Mikasa had her hands resting on her belly as Jean walked up to the bench and sat down beside her.

“Ready to go?” He asked, extending his hand to her.

Mikasa smiled and pulled herself up with his grasp. “Yeah.”

The two lovers strolled back to Jean’s car and got in, taking the exit out and driving to Mikasa’s obstetrician on the other side of town. She was nervous, more so than usual. It was her appointment that was making her feel this way.

Jean noticed and spoke up. “You alright? You’re shaking.”

“Just nervous,” She replied honestly. “What if they find out that something’s wrong?”

“I doubt that anything is wrong with our baby,” Jean insisted. “You’re healthy and you eat balanced meals every day. You even changed your diet so that the protein can help the baby develop. If anything, this is just to make sure you’re doing okay.”

“I’m bigger than I thought I would be though,” Mikasa expressed, holding her stomach. “I look like I’m four months pregnant instead of two months.”

“The doctor will have all the answers,” Jean smiled, reaching over to grab her hand. “It’ll be alright in the end.”

Mikasa smiled in return. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Jean made quick eye contact with the love of his life before focusing his eyes back on the road.

They pulled into the parking lot of her doctor’s office and walked in to wait for their appointment. Mikasa was curled up in Jean’s lap listening to Iron Maiden on her MP3 player, contemplating the negative possibilities that would explain her swollen belly. She had researched the night before about why her belly could be as massive as it was (it wasn’t  _ that  _ big but it was bigger than the average woman’s pregnancy which was enough to make her worried. After all, this would be her first child and she wanted to do the best she could to make sure they’re growing the way they should be.

“Mikasa Ackerman and Jean Kirstein, please head to room six,” the receptionist said over the loudspeaker.

“That’s us,” Jean helped Mikasa up and the two of them walked to the room.

There was an uncomforting silence in the air as Jean bounced his leg against the floor while Mikasa laid on the padded table with her legs hanging off the end. They were both nervous since they were still in the stage of complications being more likely. They worked hard to set out a future for both themselves and their baby and they didn’t want it to die because of something they couldn’t control.

Soon, Mikasa’s doctor walked in. “Hello again, you two. Ready to get started?”

Mikasa hiked her skirt up a bit and Jean grabbed her hand as the obstetrician prepared her equipment. After hearing the mild warnings about the cold silicone, Mikasa held her breath and flinched as the transducer probe made contact with her pregnancy bump.

“First sonogram, right?”

The doctor flipped on the monitor and activated the sound, letting both Jean and Mikasa hear what sounded like a rapid heartbeat.

“Is that our baby?” Jean asked, receiving a nod from the doctor.

Mikasa was in tears as she held onto Jean with a tight grip. “They sound so beautiful.”

Upon closer inspection by the doctor, she quickly alerted them of what was going on. “Look at this.”

Jean was the first to look. His expression turned from a neutral glance to a wide-eyed look that was indescribable. “Oh my God…”

**. . .**

Eren tapped his pencil against the lined pages of his notebook as he stared up at the chalkboard his teacher was writing on. His class was nearly over, only fifteen minutes were left, but they felt like the longest fifteen minutes in his life. He was never one who paid attention in school and was used to the seconds dragging forward, but this felt even longer than usual.

Eren looked down at the blue lines on his pages. He couldn’t tell if his leg was bouncing because of his ADD or because of his excitement/nervosity for seeing everybody together again, particularly a certain blonde boy. He and Armin hadn’t spoken since the blow-up at Jean’s house. He stopped talking to him for Krista’s sake but Krista was slowly becoming more distant (or at least that was what Eren had gathered.) He felt like he was losing everyone around him and only had one chance to keep everyone together.

“Eren, nose out of your book and on my board,” His English teacher, Mr. Ackerman called to him from the front of the room.

“Yes sir!” Eren replied half-heartedly and he soon after zoned out again.

_ I just want to be near you again…  _ Eren wrote into the margin of his paper.

Soon, the bell rang and Eren packed up his things and left to go find his Porsche in the school’s parking lot. He texted his sister, telling her to hurry up and get out of class and to bring Annie along. At least now that he was no longer in a classroom setting that he could tell that he was nervous.

_ Armin, please…  _ Armin made him nervous.

Eren soon spotted Mikasa and Annie by the birch tree and waved them over, letting them hop in the backseat and driving away towards the mall. It felt like Mikasa was getting bigger every time he saw her. His mind would wander whenever she brought it up. He thought she was fine and that everything was normal, at least that’s what he wanted her to be.

“I can’t tell you yet,” Mikasa said.

“But I deserve to know first, I’m your best friend,” Annie replied.

Confused, Eren interjected himself into the conversation. “What are you talking about?”

“She won’t tell me how her appointment went,” Annie explained.

“I want Jean to be there when we do tell you guys.” Mikasa’s voice sounded low and nervous, but it didn’t sound genuine to Eren.

They arrived at the mall shortly after that conversation and Eren parked at the front entrance beside a recognizable Impala with a Maseratti to the right of it, meaning Armin, Marco, and Jean were all already there.

“Did you decide on a meeting spot, Mikasa?” Eren asked.

“Food court, right in front of the Taiwanese place,” She answered. “I’m so excited to see everyone again!”

The more steps he took, the more nervous Eren became. Having not spoken to Marco or Armin in the last few days, he didn’t know what to expect. His mind started to wander again as the palms of his hands began to sweat. He heard from Jean that he, Marco and Armin weren’t hanging out together, and hearing it made his blood boil for seemingly no reason.

He saw a tuft of sandy blonde hair paired with that of a horse face, waving at Jean to catch his attention. “Hey!”

“Oh, hey!” Jean waved back and the three friends walked over to join them.

Armin’s hand was locked with Marco’s under the table but he quickly released it when Eren walked up to them. He figured this would be awkward but he didn’t think it would be completely unbearable. He was sleeping with Marco but thinking of Eren while it’s happening.

“Where’s Krista?” Eren asked.

“She didn’t tell you? She refused to come,” Jean explained, staring right at Armin. “Something about not wanting to be near a certain someone.”

_ Please let this be less awkward,  _ Armin pleaded to himself. 

This doesn’t go according to Armin’s thoughts, as no one is speaking for a full five minutes. He was tense much like everyone else, casually looking around at the scenery and down at his phone from time to time. Krista not showing up made things even more awkward for everyone at the table. He knew someone had to break the silence, so he stepped up to take the role.

“Are we not gonna talk about it?” He spoke up. “About the fight we all had?”

“You were accused of groping Eren’s fiancée,” Jean responded. “There isn’t much to say that Krista hasn’t said already.”

“How do you even know that he did it?” Marco defended the blonde. “You weren’t there.”

“Women don’t tend to lie about molestation,” Jean retaliated.

“Keep it down,” Mikasa interrupted them. “Jean, I don’t think Armin would do that kind of thing.”

Jean scoffed. “It’s always the quiet ones, Mikasa-”

“You’re being overprotective and overbearing. Stop it,” Annie complained. “You’re not a father yet.”

Eren saw that the conversation was getting nowhere and that Armin was quickly becoming scared. He knew his reasoning didn’t make sense, but it was all he had to go on. He had to try his luck and hope he didn’t get completely roasted in the end.

“Armin didn’t do it,” Eren spoke up, silencing the fighting. “She and he were arguing about something else right before I stepped in. I didn’t hear him shutting her up or see him grapple with her. Sure, he could have stopped, but he wasn’t close enough that he could have just backed off the second I entered the room.”

Armin sent a slight nod to Eren and turned back to everyone else. “For what it’s worth, you don’t have to believe me. And I’m sorry for causing all this trouble.”

The table was silent, all pondering in their minds about how to respond. Mikasa and Annie were forgiving, Jean followed along with what Mikasa said to make her happy and try to have a friendship with Armin again, and Eren was silent but beaming with happiness. It seemed like everything had been fixed, except for Krista.

The conversation switched to the more lighthearted topic of Mikasa’s pregnancy, prompting her to smile gleefully. “Jean and I have an announcement.”

“Right,” Jean cleared his throat. “Our appointment this morning went well and it turns out we’re having twins.”

A stunned expression was on everyone’s faces and they were all quick to congratulate the couple. From there, the conversation flowed in harmony as they jumped from pregnancy to school and eventually to Sasha’s party. It made everyone who went to school with her feel a little tense since nobody actually liked her.

“She’s making me work at her party,” Armin complained. “Like, sure, I could use the money but it’s an excuse to shame me for my lack of it.”

“Krista told me about it. Said she needed some company so she and I are going together,” Eren said. “Maybe we’ll see you there.”

“You’ll see me there too,” Marco interrupted. “Sasha invited me during art class.”

“You have art class with her?” Armin asked. “I’ll pray for you.”

Marco laughed and wrapped his arm around the blonde. “Please, she’s not  _ that  _ bad.”

Not realizing that they surprised everyone, Marco went in for a kiss and Armin was forced to reciprocate in front of everyone. The blonde pulled away quickly, seeing stunning expressions all around, and becoming heavily embarrassed.

Jean was the first to speak up. “Are you two dating now?”

“Well, I…” Armin looked over at Marco and gestured for him to speak up.

Marco nodded his head to Armin and turned to everyone else. “We don’t necessarily have a label for it.”

“So you two are just fucking then,” Annie responded. “I figured since you live in the same house.”

Before either Marco or Armin could explain themselves, Eren jumped in after being silent for so long, “New conversation topic. Let’s not embarrass these guys too much.”

The conversation flowed like a symphony once again. At least, it flowed between everyone else. Eren and Armin were on edge the whole time and exchanging glances at each other when the other wasn’t looking. They couldn’t help but look at each other, and this continued until the meetup was over.

“It was amazing speaking to you all again!” Mikasa said, hugging everyone. “We need to do this again. Maybe Krista will tag along next time!”

“We had better go. We’ve got an early start tomorrow,” Armin said. “Bye, everyone!”

Eren looked over at Armin to see the blonde had his fingers intertwined with Marco’s. He completely ignored everything else and offered to let Mikasa stay at Jean’s for the night as a present. He didn’t stick around to see their excited reactions and gestures of gratitude. He caught up to the two lovers and stopped them.

“Are you two seriously dating?” Eren asked.

“Yeah, I guess if you wanna put a label to it,” Armin replied.

“But, what about what he had?” Eren reached for his hand but Armin pulled away.

“You said you wanted to stay friends, not me,” Armin growled. “I need to go.”

And it was then that Eren felt something shatter in his heart that he once felt days before. Hearing that in real life tarnished his memories of Armin and everything they did together. He didn’t want to see Marco with him, but he couldn’t do anything about it.

Eren sighed in defeat.  _ After all, he got to him first… _


	25. Still Burning, Please Tell Me Why

In the weeks that passed, Eren tried to forget about Armin’s newfound relationship with Marco. It took up all of his energy, energy that he needed for his final exams. He wasn’t sleeping because he couldn’t stop dreaming of how happy Armin and Marco were together. He tried to channel his feelings into happiness at first, but that wore off after a few days. No matter what he tried, he couldn’t be happy for them.

_ I just can’t…  _ Eren thought to himself as he wrote down insults into his notebook.

His English class was on the brink of finishing their final projects and he had blown off enough time by fixating on his little feud with Armin. He ended up using that to produce a poem on the subject matter. He wasn’t even much for poetry but he was inspired and needed an outlet to funnel his anger into.

“Eren, you’re up,” Mr. Ackerman called to him from his desk.

The only issue with his project was that he needed to present it to the class as a part of his exam, meaning he would have to express his current feelings about very private affairs. “Do I have to?”

“Would you like to fail my class?” Mr. Ackerman snapped. “Your answer better be a no, Mr. Yeager.”

Eren stood up from his seat and sulked up to the front of the room. He heaved a sigh, scanning the room to see that all eyes were on him. He didn’t have anyone in his class that could reassure him either. He was alone in a room filled with people who just wanted to get their projects done and over with.

He gulped before reading off what he had angrily written only moments ago. Everyone in the room could tell he was nervous as his voice cracked a couple of times, but this only added to his performance and entranced them even more. Eren quickly found a rhythm and his level of anxiety fell to the floor, letting him bring forth an emotional powerhouse he didn’t know he had contained in his soul. He was angry, he had every right to be, and he was finally letting it show but just at the wrong time.

_ Where’s Armin when I need him?  _ He thought after concluding his poem.

“I’m giving you a ninety-three,” Mr. Ackerman said. “That was a very powerful message, one that I could tell was for a specific person given that you referenced blonde hair and blue eyes multiple times in multiple ways. However, your diction is terrible and needs work. If I can’t understand you, I’m not going to understand the message you’re trying to express, okay?”

Eren nodded and went back to his seat at the back of the class. He stared at the clock as the last of his classmates presented their poems. He was never one to grit his teeth but he found himself grinding the bones in his mouth together as he waited for the end of the day to finally arrive. The seconds would pass by so slowly in his eyes, slow enough that one would think they were going backward in time rather than forward, but Eren did eventually hear the bell ring.

Eren jumped from his seat and ran to the door, only to be stopped by Mr. Ackerman calling his name. “Yeager, get over here.”

Eren rolled his eyes and walked to his teacher’s desk. “Did you need help with cleaning up?”

“Not after the last time you helped out. I had to spend five hours here making sure it was spotless after you left,” Mr. Ackerman replied as he filed his papers away. “It’s about your poem.”

“You said I needed to work on my diction,” Eren repeated.

“Yes, but that’s not all I wanted to talk to you about,” Mr. Ackerman stood up and packed his briefcase, looking up at Eren. “Why were you holding yourself back?”

Eren, confused, replied, “I didn’t know I was.”

Mr. Ackerman, or Levi as he was called by other teachers, stood at only five feet and three inches in height but this didn’t make his piercing black eyes any less menacing. “You were letting your anxiety take over your performance which made you stumble over words, slur sentences together, it basically made it hard to understand you. I admire your passion in your performance, but I could tell you weren’t comfortable on stage.”

“I was certain I made that clear when I asked if I had to present,” Eren smiled as he followed Levi out of the classroom. “So, you just asked me to stay later to talk about my performance anxiety?”

“Well, this is my final year teaching you and I wanna help as much as I can before you go off and do bigger things,” Mr. Ackerman explained. “Whatever you do with your life, don’t get worked up about it because of some boy.”

“Wait, how did you-!” Eren yelled as his teacher walked away.

“I know you too well, Eren. Work out whatever shit you have with him before you retake my exam,” Mr. Ackerman replied as he walked down the stairs and out of Eren’s sight.

Eren felt his phone buzz and retrieved it from his breast pocket, seeing that Armin was calling him. “Hey, Armin. What’s up?”

“Hey! I was wondering if you wanted to hang out,” the blonde replied. “We haven’t exactly spoken since you found out about Marco and me…”

“Sure, I was actually just about to text you,” Eren smiled. “Should I come pick you up?”

“I’m at my place right now. You can come over and we can chill out,” Armin explained. “Marco isn’t here, by the way. He had to run a few errands with his parents.”

“Sure, what’s your address again?” Eren asked and wrote down each letter onto a scrap of paper. “I’ll see you in a few minutes!”

“Okay, bye!” Armin replied before hanging up.

With a spring in his step, Eren walked to the parking lot and found his Porsche, seeing that Mikasa was waiting there with Annie. He approached the girls and offered them a ride, but they politely declined, and Mikasa noticed that Eren was acting differently than he had been for the last few weeks.

“What’s gotten into you?” Mikasa hid her smirk under her red scarf. She knew exactly what was going on.

“Nothing,” Eren replied as he got into the driver’s seat.

The girls got out of the way so that Eren could pull out of his parking spot and drive to Armin’s house. He didn’t take very long and pulled into his driveway, only seeing the Impala parked away from the road. He parked behind it and got out to walk up to Armin’s front door. He knocked a couple of times and waited for Armin to come and greet him.

_ I missed you,  _ Eren thought as he smiled at the ground.

Armin was waiting on the couch in the living room when he heard a loud banging at the door. “That’s probably him now.”

Armin set his books down onto the coffee table and walked to his front door, opening it to find a grinning ravenette standing on the other side. He hadn’t seen Eren’s smile in weeks and nearly blushed at the sight of him. He had to keep his composure for Eren’s sake and his own sanity.

“Hey! I’m glad you could make it,” Armin beamed as he escorted Eren inside to his room.

Eren took his shoes off to leave at the doorway before stepping onto the carpet and seeing the walls on one half of the room were adorned with posters of various bands while the other half was filled with portraits of famous people and character sketches. Rubber bracelets with different bands etched onto their elastic surfaces were littered on the dresser and a couple were on the floor. He picked up the yellow bracelet and read the band name Fall Out Boy _._

He was impressed with how the room looked, leading him to ask, “Did you draw all of these?”

“No, I can’t even draw a stick figure,” Armin replied, relaxing on the bed with the galaxy blanket. “Marco is the artist out of the two of us.”

Eren took a seat next to the blonde. “It must be easy doing things with Marco when you’re in the same room.”

Armin blushed and laid back onto his pillow. “We’ve only done it once, and it was his first time and mine.”

Eren bit the inside of his cheek to keep from frowning. “Oh, I didn’t think you guys were gonna move that fast.”

“You can’t plan that kind of stuff,” Armin explained. “We got drunk and started kissing and then our clothes came off. Sorry, I didn’t mean to tell you.”

“It’s okay,” Eren reassured Armin, thinking of ways to kill the tension. “Why don’t we watch a movie?”

“Yeah, okay.” Armin stood up and rummaged through his collection, unaware of the prying eyes that were watching his every move.

Eren couldn’t take his eyes off of the blonde and he watched him or more specifically his buttocks as Armin bent over to look for a movie in his drawer. The tension may have depleted for Armin but Eren was dying inside because he couldn’t touch the blonde. He was forced to respect that Armin was in a relationship, and that bothered Eren to no end.

Armin put _ How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days  _ into the DVD player as some background noise so that he and Eren could still talk with each other. “You excited for exams?”

“I guess,” Eren replied. “But after this, I don’t know what I wanna do for college. I’m basically lost after high school.”

“You said you were going, right? What are you taking?” Armin asked.

“Medical stuff,” Eren replied. “I’m doing it because it seems like the right thing to do. I’d be making my family proud and it’d be a career where I’m set for life.”

“But what do you wanna do?” Armin asked further.

“I wanna study English and become an author,” Eren confessed. “Reading is a passion of mine and to be able to articulate my ideas into physical books would be amazing. I’m already registered for medical school though, so I’m stuck.”

“I don’t think you’re stuck, I think you just need a push,” Armin nudged Eren’s ribs and offered a smile.

Eren stared at Armin, yearning for something to happen. He desperately wanted Armin to lean closer and connect their lips. Eren would have leaned in to do just that if it wasn’t for the fact that Armin was dating Marco. He didn’t want to fuck up their relationship but it would feel so amazing to kiss him, even if it was for the last time.

So, he did just that. He fucked up their relationship with one single everlasting kiss.

Armin was taken by surprise as he fell onto his back and pulled Eren over top of him. All those times he and Marco were together, he couldn’t help but think of Eren. Yeager boy entered his thoughts no matter how much he tried to fight him off. He couldn’t forget about what they had together (especially when he got Eren’s semen in his eye) and realized he was only in a relationship with Marco because Marco was there to satisfy his drunken desires.

Armin took the opportunity to tell Eren while the ravenette was kissing his neck, “I’ll break up with Marco.”

This didn’t end well in the blonde’s favour. Eren pulled away and sat at the edge of the bed. He was confused at his actions despite wanting this to happen only moments ago. He was feeling the same way he felt at Jean’s party; he felt disgusting.

“Eren,” Armin spoke up, reaching to grab his shoulder. “Eren, don’t stop.”

“But I need to,” Eren replied, standing up. “I don’t even know how to feel right now. We keep doing this even though we’re both unavailable.”

“I said I would break up with Marco,” Armin raised his voice as he walked in front of Eren.

“Are you gonna just make me break up with Krista then?” Eren snapped.

“This can’t work if you’re going to be her husband!” Armin yelled. “Maybe you should go. I’m not about to let myself be some sex toy that caters to your every whim.”

“Oh like you don’t make Marco do that for you already!” Eren shouted back, receiving a shove from the blonde.

“Get out!” Armin gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. “And for the record, I actually wanted to be with him! I just wanna be with you more though, but I guess that’ll never fucking happen now!”

Eren put his sneakers on and stormed out the door back to the outside world. He jumped into his Porsche and drove off in a rage, running red lights and blowing stop signs like no tomorrow. He was lucky that police were dealing with a riot in the city’s main square and couldn’t be there to give him the many speeding tickets he deserved.

He pulled into his driveway as tears flowed down his face. _ After all that, why do I still want you? Why, Armin? _

**. . .**

Marco and Armin were alone in the house that night, allowing the blonde to blow off some steam. A normal person would think that he would watch a movie or do some last-minute homework to calm down, but in reality, he was letting Marco use his body. This was Armin’s new normal.

His face was plunged deep into his pillow to muffle any moaning that could be audible. His mind would wander as he tried to remain as present in the situation as he possibly could, but he would always fall back to Eren. He couldn’t maintain his erection if he didn’t wander off to that Yeager guy, solidifying how he truly felt about the whole situation.

_ Eren, how can you be so good and yet so bad for me? _


	26. My Own Worst Enemy

Krista woke up the morning of Sasha’s party with what she could only describe was a stuffy feeling in her brain, like something was going to go wrong. She was secretly praying for that to happen so she wouldn’t have to attend Sasha’s party. Ever since her falling out with Armin, she didn’t have anyone there she would want to see.

_Maybe I should be excited to have one last night of fun before I’m married off next week…_

Krista’s phone rang and she jumped from her spot on the bed to answer the call. “Hello?”

“Hey, darling,” Ymir’s voice replied. “You doing anything today?”

“Other than getting ready for a stupid party, no,” Krista explained. “Wanna come over and help me?”

“Sure, and maybe we can go out for a bit first?” Ymir suggested.

Krista smiled. “Of course we can! I’ll see you in a bit?”

“Definitely. Leave your window unlocked. I love you,” Ymir said.

“I love you too,” Krista said back before hanging up.

She stood up and stretched to the sky before walking to her closet to grab something to wear as well as her bathroom products for her morning shower. On this day, she felt that she would need a long shower to prepare herself for the mental anguish getting ready for Sasha’s party would put her through. Of course, she could always cancel but her parents would have gotten after her, and she didn’t need to be yelled at for another miscellaneous thing she was doing wrong.

 _I should just try to make the most of it._ She disrobed herself from her pyjamas and stepped into the shower. She let the hot water cool her nerves off as she massaged her shampoo into her hair. She only spent a few minutes on her actual routine and spent the rest of the time sitting on the tiles as the water peddled against her shins.

 _This is gonna suck, isn’t it?_ She thought to herself. “No use staying in here forever.”

She stood up and shut the water off so she could start getting ready for Ymir to show up. She was excited to see her girlfriend before being wedded in the coming days to a man she could never love. She wanted to get married but she wanted Ymir to be her spouse, not Eren.

After drying off and throwing on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie, the blonde walked back to her room while ruffling her hair with her towel and walked in to find Ymir quietly climbing through her window. “Hey, freckles.”

“Hey, hot stuff,” Ymir greeted her in return. “Fuck, you’re so beautiful.”

“Look who’s talking,” Krista kissed Ymir and wrapped her arms around her. “How was the walk?”

Ymir shrugged. “It’s not a big deal–”

Both of the girls heard footsteps and Ymir dove underneath Krista’s bed just before her nanny walked in. Nobody in the family knew about Krista’s love interest nor did the two want her family to find out about their relationship. Krista was raised with the idea that women having sex was wrong and that she should look for a wealthy man and marry him.

Clearly, she didn’t listen, so her parents forced it on her by arranging a marriage with the son of two of the wealthiest doctors in the county.

Krista managed to assure her nanny that she was fine and the two finally got the privacy they wanted. “Ugh, sorry about that.”

“Oh don’t worry about it,” Ymir replied as she kicked off her shoes and sat on Krista’s bed. “Lay with me?”

“I’ll do more than that,” Krista smirked and crawled onto Ymir to kiss her deeply.

This was usually how her visits went with Ymir. She couldn’t keep her hands off of her girlfriend for very long and an hour later they would both be semi-naked and out of breath. They saw each other often but it never felt like enough for them, especially now that Krista was getting married to Eren. They were both perturbed at the situation but knew there wasn’t much they could do about it without outing themselves to possibly homophobic people.

They didn’t get very far before Krista’s phone rang on her nightstand and she reached over to answer it. “Hello?”

“Hey, Krista!” Sasha’s annoying voice spoke through the speaker. “Ready for the party tonight?”

“Totally! Got you your gift and everything!” Krista replied, mimicking her enthusiasm while also mocking it.

“You’re bringing a date, right?” Sasha asked insistently.

Krista froze for a second before blurting out, “My boyfriend, Eren Yeager.”

“Boyfriend? Doubtful, but you can bring him as your date. I’ll be seeing you guys at seven then!” Sasha hung up after that and went back to getting ready.

“What did that witch want?” Ymir groaned.

“She wanted to know if I was bringing a date and now I have to let Eren know that he’s my date,” Krista explained as she fell off of Ymir onto the other side of the bed. “And I have to get that slut a gift too.”

“Why do you guys even have beef?” Ymir inquired, turning over so that she was facing the blonde.

“We don’t even have beef, really. She’s just a total bitch to everyone that isn’t rich like her and me,” Krista explained. “She’s super classist, is what I’m saying.”

Ymir became super confused by her relationship with Sasha and asked, “Why are you even going to the party?”

“Because Armin’s working as a waiter,” Krista replied, causing her heart to split in two and changing her mood drastically. “He was going to keep me company.”

Ymir hummed in acknowledgement. “Not that I like that garden gnome-looking asshole, but have you guys even talked since that party at that baby daddy’s house?”

Krista shook her head. “He’s been avoiding me, and now so is everyone else. I think they might be figuring out that I lied about Armin taking advantage of me. I had every right to do that though. He wanted to out me to Eren and my parents!”

“No, I totally get it. Outting someone’s sexuality is wrong, especially if you’re only doing it because you wanna bang some guy,” Ymir agreed. “But, maybe you guys should talk about it and come clean. You don’t wanna marry him and Armin wants to be with him so maybe it’s for the best that you anger a few parents. It’s not like you’ll be seeing them again once you go to university, so why not tell everyone the truth about it all.”

“Because I don’t know what they’ll do to me if they find out before I leave for school,” Krista disclosed, her anxiety growing bigger.

“Take a breath, honey,” Ymir insisted.

Krista drew in a breath and let it out slowly, and repeated this process a few more times and smiled at her lover. “You always know exactly what to say.”

“I try…” Ymir knew she would miss Krista when she left for college but she didn’t think it would be with all of her heart.

Krista stood up and put a t-shirt on. “I still need to buy her a present, so let’s go.”

Ymir had to leave through the window for fear of being seen and met up with Krista at her Mercedes Benz and the two drove towards the mall to pick out something for the party’s hostess. Sasha liked really expensive jewelry and would always show off whatever new necklace or bracelet her parents bought her from Graff or Harry Winston, so going to a jewelry store was a safe bet. Her jewelry always matched as well. So, once the two girls arrived at the mall, they went to Tiffany & Co. to pick up a necklace and earring set that was on sale (Krista didn’t think Sasha was worth spending nearly five hundred dollars on.)

After finding the appropriate gift, the girls hit up the food court for some sushi, which allowed Krista to explain to Eren that he was going to be her plus one. He agreed and said he would pick her up before the party and take her there and bring her home afterwards. He tried to say that he loved her but she faked poor reception and hung up.

Soon, they returned to her house and Krista started getting ready for her final night of freedom. “So, I was thinking of wearing this.”

Ymir observed the red dress in Krista’s hands and gave a thumbs up. “It looks like the dress from _How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days_ but red.”

“No, this is the dress from that movie coming out in September,” Krista explained. “My parents had a red version made for me for formal dinners and anything else they would force me to attend.”

“How easy would it be for me to take off?” Ymir smirked.

Krista was about to respond but felt her stomach throb in pain. She ran to the bathroom, making it just in time to throw up into the toilet. Ymir had chased after her and saw that she was groaning loudly and coughing up her lunch from the mall.

“Let me get you some water,” Ymir offered.

“No, you’ll get spotted by the nanny, I’ll be fi–”

Krista coughed into the toilet once again, leaving Ymir to run off and grab a glass cup from the kitchen and come back to the bathroom to fill it up with water to give to her. “Don’t worry, she didn’t see me,” Ymir insisted.

Krista swallowed half of the water in the glass and swished the other half in her mouth and spat it into the toilet. “Well, that didn’t go as expected.”

“Do you think you’d still be able to go to the party?” Ymir asked, hoping that the answer would be no.

“I can’t cancel now, it’s way too late,” Krista replied before throwing up in the toilet again.

Ymir sighed and came up with a plan to make everyone happy. “How about you get Armin to pretend to be you for the party?”

Krista’s eyes lit up as she smiled at Ymir. Then, she pulled her phone out and made the most important phone call of her life. There was a dial tone but eventually, she got an answer.

“Krista?” Armin asked.

“We have a problem!” She cried.


	27. Panic! At The Disco

“Marco, I have to get ready,” Armin moaned as his lover kissed his neck.

“C’mon, just a little longer?” Marco pleaded, rubbing the blonde’s nipple and enjoying his lustful reaction.

Just as Armin was about to go in for another kiss, his phone rang on the dresser. He giggled and walked over to answer his phone. He noticed the contact name and answered with caution.

“Krista?” Armin asked.

“We have a problem!” She cried.

Armin decided to hear her out rather than hang up on her. “Take a deep breath and explain slowly.”

“I have food poisoning or something and I can’t stop throwing up and I have to go to Sasha’s party,” her tone was frantic and Armin could tell she was serious. “Please, I need you to fill in for me one final time and after this, I will never ask you to do any favours for me ever again!”

Armin stared at his work attire sprawled out on his bed as he replied, “I can do it for you, but I need you to do a couple of things for me.”

“Anything!”

“Krista, I want an apology,” Armin requested. “And I’m sorry for trying to force you out of the closet.”

Krista was taken aback by Armin’s sudden apology and smiled as she reciprocated his feelings. “I’m sorry for stringing you along because I’m scared of coming out.”

“You have every right to be scared,” Armin assured her. “Give me a few minutes and then I’ll be on my way.”

“I’ll pay for a cab,” Krista stated. “Eren is supposed to pick me up tonight and if he sees your car, he might think that something is up.”

“I’ll park down the street. Don’t worry,” Armin looked at Marco who was laying in bed shirtless and staring at Armin intently, urging him to come back to bed. “We’ll make this work.”

“You are a God damn lifesaver! I’ll see you soon!” Krista smiled before hanging up.

Armin put his phone on his dresser and opened the drawer where he kept his shirts. “I gotta head out.”

“Krista needed something?” Marco asked, curious and frustrated by the phone call. “Don’t you have a party to get ready for?”

“I’m gonna blow it off,” Armin replied, throwing on a Fall Out Boy shirt. “Please don’t be too mad at me?”

Marco smiled and walked over to Armin to hug him. “Have fun, babe.”

“I’ll try.” Armin kissed Marco goodbye and put his sneakers on before leaving the house and walking to his Impala.

He sighed to calm his beating heart and got into the driver’s seat of his car. _This better be worth it, Krista…_

Armin drove to Krista’s part of town parked around the corner from her mansion and made his way over to her property. Everything in him was screaming that what he was doing was a horrendously terrible idea. He shouldn’t want to help her, at least not after what she put him through. He wanted to stay away from her for the last few weeks and completely separate himself from Krista. Krista was the devil to him.

But this burning passion of hatred didn’t last for long though. He soon realized that he wasn’t innocent in their argument. For as long as they were friends, Krista respected his desire to hide his sexuality (something he was unaware of at the time) and always encouraged him to embrace that side of him rather than forcing him to come out. This was something that he completely disregarded the night when it all fell apart for them. Though through this experience he has seen Krista’s hidden colours, he found out he had his own splotches of paint within his personality that he didn’t appreciate being there. He wanted to do whatever it took to fix that and maybe find some light at the end of this treacherous tunnel to salvage what was left of his friendship with Krista Reiss.

 _Don’t worry, we’ll make this work,_ He repeated to himself as he rang Krista’s doorbell.

The door cracked open a few seconds later and Krista poked her head through the gap. “Hey. I would have sent Ymir down but my nanny doesn’t know she’s here.”

Armin could tell she was holding a bucket for emergencies. “No worries. I’m parked around the corner.”

“Good…”

Krista let Armin walk inside and kick his shoes off before she escorted him up to her room and shut the door behind her. “Be nice to each other.”

“I will,” Ymir promised. “She needs me to help you get ready since she can’t do anything without throwing up.”

Armin nodded his head and took the dress from Ymir’s hands with a gentle grasp. “Is this the dress you wore to my birthday party last year?”

“Yeah,” Krista smiled. “We had it at my place. I remember your grandfather’s face when he saw how massive it was here.”

“He’s never seen a mansion in real life before,” Armin said as he got undressed. “Well, he _hadn’t_ seen a mansion in real life. Um, do I need to wear anything underneath the dress?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bring him up,” Krista apologized.

“Don’t worry about it. I went to therapy after my suicide attempt to help me cope with my grief. I’m a lot better now, but sometimes thinking about him triggers my anxiety,” Armin insisted. “Now, do I need to wear anything under the dress?”

“You won’t need to shave your legs since this is a floor-length dress but you need to shave your arms, chest, and armpits before putting the dress on,” Krista explained. “Go hop in the shower and do that. Also, freshen up a bit.”

“Don’t you want me to shave my facial hair?” Armin asked.

Ymir burst out laughing, earning a glaring from Krista which quickly turned into a smirk. “What facial hair?”

Offended, Armin rolled his eyes. “I’m using your razor then, smartass.”

Armin made sure he didn’t take too long and shaved every spot and crevice on his body. He hadn’t groomed himself in a while, mainly because Marco never cared about his body hair and because of pure laziness, but also because he wasn’t required to shave ever since he and Krista had their falling out. He thought about her, and everything in his mind started screaming that he should back out.

 _I’m in too deep now,_ Armin thought as he washed the hair products out of his blonde strands.

He finished up and shut the water off before grabbing a towel and drying off as quickly as he could. He then returned to Krista’s room with only his boxer briefs on and the towel ruffling his hair. The girls were staring at him intently and he was starting to freak out.

“Um,” he said.

“If you weren’t a guy, I’d hit that,” Krista spoke.

“We look exactly alike,” Armin reminded her. “Anyway, what’s next?”

“So because this was custom made for my body, you’ll need to wear a corset and flats,” Krista explained. “Ymir can help you with that.”

Armin looked over at Ymir with a worried expression. “Promise not to kill me?”

“I solemnly swear I’m up to no good,” Ymir smirked. “I’m kidding, I won’t kill you.”

“I’m holding you to that.” Armin leaned against Krista’s dresser and prepared for the worst.

Krista tried to keep from laughing as she watched from the sidelines as Ymir struggled to tighten the corset around Armin’s waist. It reminded her of the first time he put that contraption on. Back at a time when things were great between her and the blonde, unbreakable even. She worried about never gaining that magic again.

“Suck it in!” Ymir yelled.

“I can’t! I have a ribcage like a normal person!” Armin replied.

Krista couldn’t contain her laughter anymore and let it all hang out for them both to hear. _Maybe it’s not too far gone._

It was a struggle, but Ymir did manage to get Armin into the corset. He took the opportunity to check himself out in the mirror and was impressed with how slim he looked. 

“My ass looks amazing in this,” he commented, resting his hand on his hip. “What’s next?”

“Hair and makeup!” Krista stated. “I can try to help but I can’t do much.”

“I’ll help him,” Ymir offered, bringing me to Krista’s makeup vanity. “Okay so, I don’t know the first thing about this stuff but I’m sure you know more than I do.”

“Just help me pick out colours,” Armin compromised and grabbed some brushes and her bottle of foundation.

Neither one of them spoke for the duration of the makeup application process, mainly because of how awkward it felt. They never got along but still had mutual respect for one another. Now, because of the massive blowout, they had nothing but a singular string keeping one in the other’s corner.

Ymir hated apologizing and Armin hated fake apologies, so neither one of them spoke to each other. They knew they wouldn’t go back to what they had before the fight (if you could even call it something) but they didn’t want to lose their acquaintanceship because of something petty.

Armin finished up with the red lipstick just as Krista finished her phone call. “Who was that?”

“It was Eren,” Krista answered. “He’s at the front door.”

“Okay…” Armin stood up and turned around to face Krista. “Do I look okay?”

Krista analyzed his look, fighting back tears. “You look amazing. God, I feel like a Mom helping her daughter with her prom.”

“I’ll be home by midnight, Mother,” Armin teased.

“Ew no, get out of my room,” Krista laughed before sending him off. “Throw this shall on and take an evening purse with you though. And bring her her present!”

Armin caught the covering midair, grabbed one of her bedazzled clutches from David’s Bridal so he could store his phone and Sasha’s gift, and walked down the stairs in his heels as elegantly as he could and managed to make it to the front door without stumbling. He opened it to find Eren standing on the other side, wearing a black suede tuxedo and a navy tie. This plus the way Eren had his hair styled to be swept up into a quiff made Armin’s heart skip a beat and the skin under his makeup simmer into a blush.

Eren noticed the door open and saw the other way he could describe the person in front of him; a goddess. “H-Hey.”

“Hi,” Armin replied, stepping outside and shutting the door. “You look really handsome.”

“You too,” Eren replied. “Uh, I mean you look beautiful. That’s what I meant.”

“Thank you,” Armin held his hand out for Eren to hold. “Shall we be off?”

“We shall,” Eren smiled, taking hold of the blonde’s hand.

It was a relatively quiet car ride from Krista’s to Sasha’s. Armin was nervous about giving himself away and Eren was nervous about how to approach the topic of the fight the friend group had. They only spoke up when singing along to lyrics on the radio and often harmonized with the other one, and hearing the way the blonde in Eren’s car struck a chord with the ravenette.

 _Where have I heard that voice before?_ He wondered silently.

Eren pulled into the driveway of Sasha’s mansion and parked near the exit so if they needed to leave they would be able to swiftly. He ran around to the other side of his Porsche and helped the blonde out of the passenger’s seat, taking in his familiar beauty.

“Wow,” he uttered.

Armin was nervous Eren had found out. “Wow what?”

“You just look so beautiful. I’m sorry, am I making you nervous?” Eren worried.

“No, not at all!” Armin insisted. “I’m just nervous about the party. I’ve never really been great at these.”

Eren wrapped his arm around him and looked into his bright cerulean eyes. “You’ll do just fine. These things can go by like that if you let yourself have fun.”

Armin looked at Eren’s hand on his shoulder and took it in his and smiled warmly up at him. “Let’s have fun then.”

They walked up to the door and were greeted by someone dressed up in a server’s outfit who escorted them through the home to what looked to be a party room with chairs and tables set up. Every spot had a designated name tag, meaning you were supposed to sit at that specific table. Armin was aware of Sasha using this to stir up drama at her parties and hoped she decided to go easy on Krista that night.

Armin’s phone buzzed and he reached into his clutch and found that Krista had texted him, _Just told Sasha you wouldn’t be able to make it! If she asks about it, the excuse is food poisoning_

Armin could only send a winking face and put his phone away and went to find his seat. After seeing Krista’s name written in cursive, he glanced around the table to find that nearly the entire friend group would be at his table. Eren joined him soon after and the two of them took a seat at their table.

“Seems like she put us together,” Eren stated. “Also she spelt my name wrong.”

“She knows we’re together so she put us beside each other at the same table,” Armin explained. “She did the same thing with Jean and Mikasa.”

“Nice lipstick, skank,” Sasha laughed behind Armin, making both the blonde and Eren look at her. “What? I’m kidding!”

“I brought you something,” Armin replied, reaching into his purse and pulling out the Tiffany & Co. bag.

“I’ll put this with the others. You’re _such_ a doll, Historia,” Sasha wrapped Armin into a side hug before skipping off to greet her other guests.

Eren looked at Sasha in disgust and then noticed how shaky his lover was. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, she just bothers me a lot,” Armin replied. “I only agreed to come because Armin and I had a plan to hang out the whole time he was working. Now, I don’t have him.”

“I’m sure Armin will be here,” Eren reassured him.

Armin nodded. “I’m not gonna let her ruin my night though. I’m gonna have so much fun!”

“That’s the spirit!” Eren cheered.

The two passed the time with conversations about their interests and other things as more people came to their table. Mikasa and Jean arrived next and were seated to Armin’s right as Marco and Annie filled the empty spaces at their table and more guests filled the surrounding chairs in the room. Soon, servers adorned in black suits were passing out menus and serving glasses of champagne and everyone was ready to start the party.

“Did you guys pass your exams?” Armin asked, sipping on his champagne flute.

Marco, who opted for water because he was driving that night, noticed that Krista looked slightly different than how she usually did. He thought it was just the poor quality of the candle lighting in the room but he couldn’t help but think something was off about the girl sitting across from him, or at least what he thought was a girl. He didn’t pay it any more attention though and answered the blonde’s question.

“I got the highest mark in my art class,” Marco replied. “But you guys knew that already.”

“All high nineties over here!” Jean said excitedly. “And Mikasa got perfect scores in all of her classes and won a scholarship to Yale.”

“What? I’m so happy for you!” Armin said, reaching over to pat Mikasa’s shoulder.

Mikasa could tell that it was Armin and played along with the facade. “Thank you so much! They really liked my essay on balancing my pregnancy with the twins with my schoolwork to achieve the best given my situation. Who would’ve thought getting pregnant would earn me a scholarship?”

Armin pretended to act surprised. “Twins? I thought it was just one.”

There was that feeling in Marco’s stomach again and it was only growing more apparent as he watched the conversation unfold. _What’s up with Krista?_

“I’m sorry, we forgot to tell you. I’m having twins,” Mikasa explained. “I think it’ll be two girls.”

“I’m convinced it’s‒”

Jean was rudely interrupted by Sasha who was making the rounds to different tables. “Wait, someone here is pregnant?”

Mikasa wasn’t ashamed of her status and raised her hand. “Hence why I asked for water.”

“I could tell the minute you walked in,” Sasha sneered. “Shouldn’t you be getting an abortion? Or do you wanna ruin your life.”

Mikasa gritted her teeth and Jean spoke up for her. “We decided _together_ to raise them.”

Everyone started getting their fair share of attacking Sasha to no avail until an annoyed Armin slapped the table and directed everyone’s attention to him. “Do you ever just shut the fuck up? Like, seriously.”

“Excuse me?” Sasha snapped.

“Nobody _actually_ likes what you have to say and people are only here because they can post about getting invited and drinking. Nobody actually came here to hang out with _you_ so do us all a favour and go fuck yourself because clearly nobody here is at your party to fuck you,” Armin sternly replied, holding his hardened gaze with the party girl.

Sasha, baffled, directed her attention to Eren, “You’re gonna let your girlfriend talk to me like that?”

Eren looked at the blonde and smirked up at the hostess. “My _fiancée_ may do and say whatever she pleases.”

Sasha walked around and leaned over Armin’s chair and stared him dead in the eye. “I’ll have you know I have hundreds of men begging me for sex every single day and all _you_ have is that stupid blonde faggot who didn’t even have the nerve of showing up for work today.”

Eren and Marco were visibly upset, and Marco even tried to stand up to fight her, but Armin put his hand out to stop him before standing up with his face just centimetres away from Sasha’s. “You think you’re so proud of yourself by throwing drinking parties and wearing the shortest skirts and having your arguably _mediocre_ tits out, but this is just you peaking in high school. You’re gonna make the wrong decisions and realize your doting daddy can’t buy you out of it with his credit card and you find yourself washed up in a bar drinking your sorrows away you alcoholic piece of jailbai–”

Sasha struck Armin’s cheek with the back of her hand and stormed off to her table. Eren was busy making sure that the blonde was okay and kissed his cheek while everyone else was praising him for standing up to Sasha at her own party.

Armin was too busy worrying about what Eren had called him. He called him his fiancée and used female pronouns, meaning he still thought he was Krista.

“How’re you feeling?” Eren asked, holding the blonde’s hand under the table.

“I’m great, actually. I’ve never called her out like that before,” Armin responded. “It feels good.”

Eren kissed his cheek and helped him stand up. “Let’s go tear up the dance floor.”

The couple followed everyone to the next room and saw a pastry table and an alcohol bar towards the furthest wall from the door with a DJ table to Armin’s right on the stage. Streamers of glitter and gold decorated the ceiling and walls as music blasted through the surround system.

“Ready to get down?” Armin asked, looking to his left only to find that Eren was gone.

 _Where the fuck did he go?!_ He began freaking out.

Someone was passing around red solo cups and Armin mistakenly grabbed one and started drinking it. He thought it was fruit juice but instead was a strong mix of Blue Curacao, Raspberry Sour Puss, and Smirnoff Ice. This led to him having a few more drinks and drunkenly searching for Eren or anyone with a familiar face.

Armin stumbled through the party room and managed to spot Eren across the way near the bar but someone got in the middle of them. “Hey there, Krista.”

“Oh, Marco,” Armin slurred. “I’ve had a few drinks.”

“And you’re already drunk? Last time we drank together, you were the only one who could stand on her own,” Marco brought up.

“What? We’ve never gotten drunk together. This is our first time,” Armin responded.

Marco curled his eyebrow upward, finally noticing what wasn’t right about Krista. “Armin…?”

Armin was about to respond but noticed that he wasn’t being addressed by his friend’s name but rather by his own and started to feel the gravity of the situation weighing down on him, _Oh shit…_


	28. Throw Down That Façade Soon, My Love

_Armin…?_

The blonde in question started backing up to the door away from Marco. Anxiety flowed through his veins as Marco grabbed his arm to stabilize him. He had just let himself get caught by his own boyfriend and this was something he couldn’t lie his way out of.

“Armin, is that actually you?” Marco whispered. “Why are you pretending to be Krista?”

“I can’t explain here,” Armin insisted, taking Marco by the hand and pulling him to the closest room he could find that didn’t have people making out in it.

Eren, who was over by the punch bowl with Jean, witnessed the altercation and saw his fiancée drag Marco, his rival, out of the room by the sleeve of his arm and he started to clench his teeth.

Jean looked in the direction that Eren was looking and became concerned when he saw the same thing. “What the hell is she doing?”

“I don’t know but I’m gonna find out.” Eren gave Jean his drink and followed the two out the door and down the hall.

Armin and Marco found a private bathroom in the house as Armin was on the verge of a panic attack. The blonde slammed his body against the door as he slid to his knees and cried into his hands. He felt Marco’s calloused hands on his biceps and heard his voice as his boyfriend tried to ease his panicked state.

“Hey, you gotta look at me,” Marco insisted, helping Armin meet his gaze. “Why are you dressed as Krista?”

“She doesn’t wanna be with Eren so she has me pretend to be her whenever she and Eren are supposed to hang out and after the fight we had I stopped doing it for her and then she got food poisoning and she needed me to fill in for her because she couldn’t cancel and now I fucked up because it was supposed to be a secret until she could break off the engagement and be with her girlfriend,” Armin rambled, crying into his hands once again.

“Girlfriend? She’s not even straight?” Marco asked.

“She’s a lesbian but I’m the only one who knows because she doesn’t know how her parents are gonna react so that’s why she has to wait until she leaves for university in the fall,” Armin cried harder.

“Hey hey, it’s okay. I got you,” Marco kissed the top of his head. “Can you at least stand for me?”

Armin nodded and pushed himself off of the ground, transferring over to the edge of the bathtub. “Please, you can’t tell anyone, especially Eren.”

“Armin, I would never!” Marco hugged the blonde tightly, his fingers laced within the synthetic fibres of the wig Armin was wearing. “So, this isn’t your real hair?”

Armin giggled into Marco's chest and replied, “No. It’s one of Krista’s wigs.”

“Why does she need a blonde wig?” Marco asked.

“She dresses up as characters and stuff,” Armin looked up and his blue eyes met with Marco’s hickory irises. “Seriously though, you can’t tell anyone about this.”

Marco smiled. “Cross my heart and hope to die.”

Eren caught up to them and listened in from the outside world, hearing Marco make a suspicious promise to his fiancée, and opened the door just as Marco and Armin separated from each other, startling the two teens in the bathroom.

While trying to contain his jealousy, Eren curled his eyebrow upward and asked, “What’s going on in here?”

“The lights were bothering me,” Armin lied. “Marco came to see if I was okay.”

“Yeah,” Marco nodded his head. “She had a little too much to drink as well and was worried she was gonna throw up everywhere.”

Unconvinced, Eren replied, “Okay. I can take it from here. Thanks, Marco.”

He reluctantly left Eren and Armin alone and joined everyone back on the dance floor. He couldn’t help but think of how Armin used to like Eren and he thought that the shorter ravenette was leading him on. He started to think about it more and wondered if the reason Eren was so dedicated to Krista was that he was dedicated to Armin’s version of Krista.

“Where’s Eren?” Mikasa asked as she had some water.

“He’s in the washroom over that way,” Marco replied.

 _Would that explain it then? Would that explain the overlap of his feelings for Armin and Krista?_ Marco thought as he had some water to calm his nerves.

Back in the washroom, Eren was busy making sure Marco didn’t try to pull a fast one on his bride-to-be. “Are you sure he didn’t do anything to you?”

“Of course I am,” Armin replied. “Marco’s gay.”

“We don’t know that,” Eren helped the blonde stand up. “Let’s get you back to the party.”

“I can’t go out like _this_ ,” Armin whined, looking in the mirror. “My makeup is everywhere.”

Eren was struggling internally to keep everything under control and sat the blonde back onto the edge of the bathtub. “Stay here while I go get Mikasa. She keeps an emergency makeup kit on her. Don’t move, okay?”

Armin nodded and watched Eren leave and shut the door behind him. As he was wiping the tears from his eyes and cheeks, someone opened the door and walked in without realizing that the room was already occupied.

“Um,” Armin spoke up timidly.

“Fuck, I’m sorry!” The guy replied. “Wait, we were in the same homeroom class last semester. Boris, remember?”

Armin froze and, unfortunately, had to scam his way out of the situation. “Right! I had a _massive_ thing for you!”

“Really? Funny enough, I liked you too…” He took a seat to Armin, cornering him against the wall.

“Boris, I _had_ a thing for you. As in _the past_. Not anymore,” Armin tried to push past the stranger but was pressed against the wall as Boris grasped his arms in a vice-like grip and started to kiss his neck. “Hey! Get off! I have a girlfriend!”

“Whatever, dyke, now shut up and let me have my way,” Boris growled.

Those minutes he spent without Eren were some of the most painful he had ever experienced in his life. He couldn’t do anything to push Boris away and felt trapped as he wasted his energy on a situation he couldn’t rectify. No matter how much he screamed, no one came to his rescue.

Boris held Armin down with one arm and used his free hand to sneak up his skirt and attempt to make the blonde more compliant with everything that he was wanting to do to him. However, as he went to rub a clitoris, he felt a bulge underneath the cotton underwear and pulled back immediately with a look of disgust on his face.

“What the fuck?!” He screamed. “You have a dick? Fucking disgusting!”

He stormed off, leaving Armin in a daze. He slumped to the floor, regretting ever agreeing to stand in as Krista. If he would have known that he would not only be found out by his boyfriend but also sexually assaulted by some guy who knew Krista within fifteen minutes of each other, he would have never agreed to this.

As Eren returned to the hallway with Mikasa, he saw some guy leave the bathroom he was just in with a look of nausea on his face. Fearing the worst, he told Mikasa to go ahead while he went to track down that guy that was just in the bathroom.

Mikasa knocked on the door. “Honey, can I come in?”

Armin heard the familiar female voice and called out, “Come in.”

Mikasa gently opened the door and found Armin on the tile floor and rushed to his aid right away. “You don’t have to tell me what happened. Just tell me if you’re okay.”

Armin shook his head. “He… He…”

“Sh, you don’t have to say anything,” Mikasa insisted. “Let’s just get you cleaned up.”

Armin helped Mikasa up and the two sat on the edge of the bathtub and touched up the makeup on his face. Mikasa had a pretty clear image of what happened in her head which was only backed up by Armin flinching every time she touched his arms (she nearly ruined his eyeliner because of it.) She didn’t want to force Armin to say anything, knowing that from her experience that this never worked out, but he couldn’t keep it bottled up like he did when his grandfather committed suicide. She wanted to hurt herself when she was sexually assaulted (and did so multiple times) so she was concerned that that thought was running through Armin’s mind again.

“Have a look in the mirror,” Mikasa stated as she put her makeup products away.

Armin stood up and glanced at his reflection, seeing a completely new person. Mikasa had toned down his eyeshadow and softened his lip colour with cherry red instead of the fire engine red he was wearing before. She received his stamp of approval but was hesitant to leave the bathroom with her.

“He groped me,” he whispered. “He found out I’m a guy pretending to be a girl.”

“Come here,” Mikasa wrapped Armin into a warm hug. “He’s not gonna do it again, okay?”

“I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about him telling people about my secret,” Armin explained. “I can’t even lie and say I’m trans because that would make things worse.”

“You don’t have to do anything. It’s not like anyone would believe him anyway,” Mikasa smiled. “C’mon. The party isn’t as much fun without you.”

Eren opened the door and saw that Mikasa managed to get the blonde to smile again and was taken aback by the beauty he saw before him. “God, you look so beautiful.”

Armin’s head whipped to the direction the voice came from, relieved to see that Eren was standing there. “Mikasa is really good at makeup.”

“Even without it, you look beautiful,” Eren insisted.

“Mikasa, I need to talk to Eren alone,” Armin stated, giving her a knowing nod.

Mikasa returned the gesture and left Eren and Armin alone. _You’ll be alright, Armin._

Not much time passed since Eren’s sister left but Armin was too nervous to speak up first. He was the one who requested they be alone to speak but couldn’t find the words to talk to him. Eventually, he overcame that and ended up leaning into Eren’s chest.

“I’m sorry,” he mumbled. “I’m sorry for everything.”

“What do you have to be sorry about?” Eren asked, genuinely confused.

Armin looked up at him and sighed, doing Krista one final favour. “I lied about what happened at Jean’s house. That Armin tried to touch me. He never did. We were arguing over something and I threw him under the bus. I apologized to him, actually, before I came here. He forgave me.”

Eren smiled and kissed the blonde’s forehead. “I know, and I’m not mad at you.”

Armin did his best to act surprised. “You’re not?”

“Not at all. It was a dumb mistake that could happen to anyone, so don’t worry about it, okay?” Eren smiled warmly at the blonde. “No one is mad at you.”

Armin hugged Eren as if it would be his last time. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” Eren stared down at the blonde and leaned in for a kiss.

Unfortunately, he was interrupted by Jean opening the door. “Hey, sorry but we need you to help with the instruments.”

“Instruments?” Armin asked as they walked down the hall. “I didn’t know you were playing tonight.”

“Jean wrapped me into doing this last-minute since he and Mikasa need a guitarist,” Eren explained. “Sasha wanted live music so we were asked to provide some.”

“Do you play any other instruments?” Armin asked.

“I used to play piano as a kid,” Eren replied. “I only remember Can’t Help Falling In Love by Elvis Presley though.”

“That’s really adorable,” Armin smiled.

The two of them walked into the loud party room and Eren split off to help set up instruments, leaving Armin by his lonesome. He made his way across the dance floor to the bar and ordered a virgin Shirley Temple and sat back and observed the dance floor. Marco and Annie were goofing off with a few of their friends, Mikasa was on stage ordering the guys around and doing her best at supervising, and Eren was fiddling with a piano just off in the wings of the stage.

“You like what you see?” Sasha spoke up out of nowhere.

Armin looked at her before looking over at Eren again. “He’s amazing.”

“You’re _really_ going for it, aren’t you?” She replied condescendingly.

Armin rolled his eyes. “Whatever, bitch.”

He left the bar to join Annie and Marco and spent the rest of the night dancing and having fun with them. Armin ended up consuming another alcoholic drink, which messed with his balance a bit and had to lean on Annie for support as the night went on. He was starting to get to where he was enjoying himself again, even if he was going through a buzz.

Soon, the party girl had the music cut abruptly and took one of the microphones, “How’s everyone doing tonight?”

Met back with a crowd of cheering, Sasha continued, “So, I thought that tonight would be a great night for some live music and these gracious party goers have offered their services! Everyone, meet Jean, Mikasa, and Eren.”

Armin cheered along this time, loud enough that Eren heard him. “Woo!”

“Seems like Eren has a fan,” Sasha teased. “I won’t keep you guys waiting any longer. You guys may have the floor now!”

Mikasa took the microphone from Sasha and waved to the crowd. “Hi! We’re not actually an official band. We were just here and thought this would be fun to do, so enjoy! The song is in Japanese but it’s got a killer beat! Hit it!’

Eren kicked the song into full gear as the notes boomed through the speakers as the three of them began to sing in Japanese. Though the blonde was equally impressed by all three of them for their talents, Eren blew him away more so than the rest. Maybe it was the drinking, maybe it was their connection they had. He just felt his heart flutter when he saw him.

 _I love you,_ he thought to himself against his better judgement.

The song faded out and the crowd gave Eren, Mikasa, and Jean a round of applause, leaving Sasha to take the stage while the three musicians rearranged everything. “Well done guys, well done! Eren apparently has one more performance and this one I didn’t even know about!”

Eren and Jean dragged the piano out from the wings to the center of the stage and Eren walked up to Sasha and stole the microphone from Sasha. “Hello! I’m the guitarist, Eren Yeager. What a lot of people don’t know about me is that I used to play the piano. Now, that being said, I don’t remember much of it and only remember one song but after talking to a certain special someone, I wanted to play her a song. So, Krista, please join me on stage?”

All eyes were on Armin, expecting to hear an answer or at the very least see something happen.

Armin nodded his head and walked over to the stage and up the side stairs. He met with Eren who escorted him over to the piano bench. He watched as Eren set up his sheet music, knowing exactly what was about to happen. But then he heard the first note to Welcome To The Black Parade and felt his skin crawl.

“I’m joking, I’m joking,” Eren chuckled. “I’ll actually start playing now.”

Eren’s fingers hit the keys and played a soft melodious tune as his words carried a weight of emotion that not even he himself could describe. He felt so much for his fiancée that he could only express through the words of his favourite (and only) piano song. Though his rough patch of cheating will forever plague him with guilt, he moved past it and found his way once again.

The times they would speak leading up to today, Krista was cold towards him. She barely called or texted. He felt her slipping away slowly. And then this night happened and he felt that inviting energy from her once again. It was the same aura from when they first met each other. It was similar to Armin’s but he figured it was because they were such great friends and they adopted the same mannerisms. It didn’t matter anymore, not at this moment at least.

“For I can’t help falling in love with you,” he sang, playing out the rest of the song with his fingers.

He turned to see that his fiancée was crying on stage and rushed to comfort her. “I didn’t mean to‒”

“I love you so much,” Armin cried, hugging him close.

Eren’s heart skipped a beat and he kissed the top of the blonde’s head. “I love you too.”

Sasha was clapping as she walked to the center of the stage and took one of the microphones from the stand set up by the piano. “There’s not a dry eye in the house. How long have you guys been together?”

Armin managed to pull himself together enough to answer, “Since April.”

“But you’re betrothed already? That’s quite the quick transition!” Sasha pried.

“Well…” Eren looked down at the blonde and saw that he was nodding his head. “Our parents set us up.”

“An arranged marriage is super uncommon nowadays and you say you love each other,” Sasha said. “Well, if it’s true love, tell me how tall she is. And Krista can’t say anything.”

“She’s about five feet tall,” Eren answered. “She looks taller though because of her heels.”

“Lift your skirt, Krista,” Sasha smirked in the blonde’s direction. “Let’s see if Eren is right.”

Armin reluctantly lifted his dress so that his shoes and ankles were visible to the world. “Shit…”

“Shit indeed because you’re wearing flats,” Sasha said excitedly. “Eren, I suggest you step away from this imposter.”

“What? No, you’re lying‒!” Eren went to grab her but Armin stopped him.

“Eren, don’t. Just let it happen,” the blonde insisted.

“I feel like I’m in Scooby-Doo! Let’s unmask this villain and find out who you really are!” Sasha grabbed the wig on Armin’s head and pulled it off along with the wig cap he was wearing, revealing his boyish qualities. “Armin? I thought you were sick! But I guess you were just playing dress-up.”

Armin didn’t answer. He knew it was better to let it happen. To let the people gasp and gawk and laugh at him.

“Why are you pretending to be Krista?” Sasha asked.

Armin took in a deep breath before responding with, “Krista didn’t want to come tonight so she asked me to fill in for her.”

“Now, Boris,” Sasha called and the stranger from the bathroom walked on stage. “Tell me what she told you in the bathroom when you guys hooked up.”

“He assaul‒”

“Eren! It’s not worth it!” Armin yelled. “Let’s just get this over with…”

“You told me you had a girlfriend,” Boris recalled. “You admitted to me that you’re a fucking dyke.”

“Now, why would you say that you’re engaged to Eren but also have a girlfriend?” Sasha asked, knowing exactly what was coming out of Armin’s mouth.”

“Under my facade as Krista, I outed her as a lesbian to Boris,” Armin explained, hearing gasps from the crowd.

“So, she doesn’t even love you, Eren,” Sasha giggled. “That’s the ultimate prank right there!”

“Armin…” Eren couldn’t process anything that was happening at that moment. He couldn’t even move. All he could do was watch the chaos unfold.

“Fags like Armin here deserve the most righteous of punishments, and what a better way to end the night than with a crimson symphony!” Sasha pointed to the rafters.

Armin was confused until he felt something wet spill onto his head and down his body, ruining Krista’s beautiful dress. The scent became stronger and he soon realized that Sasha had a bucket’s worth of pig’s blood poured onto him. She humiliated him the same way Chris Hargensen humiliated poor Carrie White on their prom night.

“I figured you would enjoy it since you’re such a book nerd,” Sasha laughed. “Oh wait, you’re not a book nerd since you’re not Krista!”

The crowd joined in with their own laughter as Armin slumped to the floor and cried to himself while wiping the blood off of his face. Marco tried to get onto the stage to help Armin but nobody would let him through as they were too busy taking pictures and videos of the event taking place before them.

Sasha noticed this and used it to her advantage, “And who’s this? Well, I know who it is but not everyone here would know!”

Marco was desperately trying to save Armin from embarrassment but the blonde was so far gone that he answered honestly, “That’s Marco, my boyfriend.”

“Boyfriend? But don’t you love Eren? Or unless that was part of your little charade as well,” Sasha kneeled next to Armin. “It’s okay, Armin. It’ll all be over once you say who you love.”

Armin looked between the two men. He wanted to protect them both but could only choose one. He couldn’t risk Eren being degraded even more and went with the safe answer, “I love Marco. I always have. Everything I did tonight was because Krista wanted me to play the part as her and make it work until she could figure out how to break off the engagement.”

“You’re finally free to go, darling,” Sasha whispered.

Armin took off like a bat out of hell and ran to the washroom while being laughed at and booed at. He found the washroom he was in before and did his best to wash the blood off his skin and clothes all while crying and puking into the sink from the stench of death. It reminded him of when he was in the hospital the night his grandfather killed himself. Everything that night reeked of death and he desperately wanted to escape that smell.

He heard the door click open and saw Eren standing in the doorway. He didn’t say anything but grabbed a towel and helped Armin dry off and offered a bag filled with clothes.

“You’re gonna need this,” He spoke. “We need to get you home.”

Armin got changed and followed Eren to his Porsche, seeing a hoodie laid out on the seat. He didn’t question it and sat in the passenger’s seat as Eren got into the driver’s seat and started the car. There wasn’t any conversing during the drive back to Krista’s mansion. Eren was visibly furious while Armin was scared shitless at Eren’s demeanour. He felt that anything he could have said would set the ravenette off and he didn’t need to be screamed at by the man he was really in love with.

Eren parked outside Krista’s mansion but didn’t unlock the passenger door just yet. He wanted to talk to Armin to figure out why he did what he did and why he even thought this was a good idea. He just wanted some answers.

“I should have known something was up when I saw your car parked around the corner,” Eren spoke up, catching Armin’s attention. “I brushed it off as someone else’s car. I guess I shouldn’t have.”

Armin didn’t answer him, which infuriated Eren.

“Why? Eren asked through clenched teeth.

Armin still didn’t answer.

“Why would you embarrass me like that? Why would you confuse me like that? Mess with my emotions like that?” Eren’s voice grew louder with every word he spoke. “What good did you think was going to come of it to dress up as my apparently gay fiancée and basically act out your sick fantasies about me?!”

Armin didn’t want to speak but he finally snapped. “I didn't mean to embarrass you! You were just collateral damage!”

“Oh, I was collateral, huh?! So that’s how you _really_ think of me!” Eren shouted. “I guess I know who you really like as well!”

“But I only did that to save your ass!” Armin yelled in return. “I do love you! I have ever since we kissed that first time!”

“As Krista or as yourself?!” Eren gripped his steering wheel.

“As Krista!” Armin replied angrily. “I have loved _you_ ever since the night of Mikasa’s party. I had to restrain myself from doing anything with you because I couldn’t fuck up Krista’s plan! And then I couldn’t anymore when you kissed me in the hospital parking lot!”

“Do you not understand how _mortifying_ that was for me?! You admitted to the world that the girl of my dreams is gay and was using her gay bestie as a body double so she didn’t have to be near me!” Eren was starting to get on Armin’s nerves.

“Oh go fuck yourself!” Armin grabbed the collar of Eren’s shirt. “You will _never_ get how insanely mortifying and _gross_ it feels to be covered in fucking pig's blood! And you will never get how _stupid_ I feel for even trusting Krista in the first place. I got found out by my boyfriend, sexually assaulted by some random guy who then parroted everything to Sasha, the local bitch who hates both my and Krista’s guts, and to have to admit that you love a man you could never have! You will never _fucking_ get it!”

“Take your filthy hands off of me,” Eren growled, prompting Armin to release his grip. “Now get out of my car. I _never_ wanna see you again. You hear me? Stay away from me, my family, my friends, and my future wife.”

“Fine,” Armin pulled away and opened the door. “Just stop lying to yourself about Krista. She will cheat on your sorry ass with Ymir. Oh yeah, Ymir is the girl you met the day we all went to the beach. She had sex with her the night before while you were busy accepting _sexual favours_ from me. Have a good _fucking_ night.”

Armin got out and slammed the door shut, watching Eren drive off into the night. He trudged his way to Krista’s front door and walked in. He crept up the stairs and saw that Krista’s light in her bedroom was still on and gingerly knocked on the door. He heard footsteps and the door creaked open, revealing the short blonde girl on the other side.

Krista was taken aback by Armin’s appearance. “Armin?”

“Everyone found out,” Armin cried. “Sasha dumped… you don’t even wanna know. And Eren is furious at me, and I outed you at the party but it was because I didn’t have a choice‒”

“Hey, calm down,” Krista whispered. “Come in and rest, okay?”

Armin walked into her room and explained everything that had happened while Krista comforted him and listened to his cries. Both were now on edge for what was to come in the future but they ignored that feeling the best they could. For now, Krista needed to make sure Armin would be okay.

Armin had a shower and slept in the guestroom wearing spare pyjamas Krista had lying around. He cried until he couldn’t anymore. He kept weeping until he had an onset headache. He reached for a knife, a razor blade, anything that could quench his thirst for control over his pain and suffering but couldn’t find anything within his vicinity. He could only lay there and acknowledge the consequences of his reckless actions.

 _Why, after I have exposed myself for the fraud I am,_ Armin thought to himself as his eyes grew heavy from slumber. “After throwing down my facade and seeing Eren’s reaction, why do I still love him?”


	29. These Desperate Times Call For Desperate Measures

Eren groaned to the sound of his alarm clock blaring on his nightstand. It was the day he used to be so excited for but now was dreading for the past week. It was the day of his wedding, the day he was going to be with Krista in matrimony for the rest of his life.

 _It won’t be all bad. I still love her,_ Eren assured himself as he removed his covers and rose from his bed. _Or at least I think I do._

“Eren! Are you up?” His mother yelled from the first floor.

“Yeah!” He replied. “Just gonna hop in the shower!”

“Make it quick!” She yelled before going back to cooking breakfast with her daughter. “Isn’t this exciting? Your brother is getting married and soon you’ll be getting married _and_ having kids!”

Mikasa shrugged and thought back to Eren’s rant about everything that happened at Sasha’s party. _You don’t wanna know how we feel about this right now, Carla._

_Mikasa had gotten home before Eren, hanging out with Jean in the living room when Eren arrived. She saw the scowl he was wearing and noticed that that bag of clothing from AllSaints wasn’t in his hand. Before he could run upstairs, she beckoned him to the living room._

_“Talk to me,” she insisted._

_Eren chewed on his bottom lip and looked away. “I feel so fucking embarrassed.”_

_“Eren,” Mikasa went for a hug but Eren stepped out of her reach. “Eren, c’mon. It isn’t that serious.”_

_“Bullshit,” He growled._

_“Hey, cut the tone,” Jean stepped in. “I totally get where you’re coming from in all this but this isn’t Mikasa’s fault.”_

_“I can’t trust you when you say that,” Eren grimaced. “The one person I thought I could trust used me because she was too scared to come out to her parents, and then the other person within that circle was part of her whole fucking plan!”_

_“Keep it down, our parents are sleeping,” Mikasa said in a hushed whisper._

_“Fuck that!” Tears were forming in Eren’s eyes as he desperately wiped them away. “The girl I thought I knew was really just the guy I was cheating on her with! I guess that fact doesn’t matter now because she was apparently cheating on me with her girlfriend! I don’t even understand how they kept it a secret from everyone for so long!”_

_Mikasa became quiet as she backed up behind Jean, and Eren noticed this. “Am I scaring you?” He asked._

_Mikasa looked away. “I’m sorry.”_

_“Why are you… Oh my God. You knew?!” Eren lunged for his sister but was held back by her boyfriend. “You knew and you didn’t tell me?”_

_“She didn’t make you happy!” Mikasa joined in on the yelling. “Armin made you happy! That’s why I wanted to help him get with you!”_

_Eren gritted his teeth. “So you were too busy playing matchmaker to sit back and be happy for me then!”_

_“Eren, stop! Mikasa probably meant well!” Jean was trying his best to hold Eren back but was losing his grip on the angry teen quickly._

_“I can’t believe you thought encouraging their little charade was a good idea!” Eren continued. “What? Didn’t have enough time on your hands so you get knocked up and fuck with my marriage?!”_

_Mikasa couldn’t handle it anymore and threw her book at Eren, nailing him in the face. “I can’t believe you’re so blind to your own feelings!”_

_Suddenly, a sharp pain thundered through Mikasa’s abdomen, sending her to the floor as she quietly shrieked at the intensity. Jean ran to her side, leaving Eren to run upstairs and get their parents. Soon after, they were on their way to the hospital and that was where she stayed for the entire night._

“Sweetie?” Carla asked.

“Sorry, I zoned out,” Mikasa replied. “What were we talking about?”

“Breakfast. You said you wanted a pita with falafel,” she reminded Mikasa before looking over her shoulder once again. “Your brother is taking forever in the shower.”

“He’s probably just nervous,” Mikasa lied. “Do we have spinach for my pita?”

Up in the shower, Eren was battling with an onset wave of anxiety and sexual desire. It was his wedding day but he couldn’t stop thinking about someone who wasn’t his soon-to-be wife, and it was causing him a great amount of stress.

 _Get out of my head, Armin!_ He growled.

He bit his lip as he imagined Armin naked under the covers of his bed and in compromising positions and heard his moans ring through his ears. He felt this way once, but because of certain circumstances he couldn’t act on his feelings for Armin, but now that he was frustrated with both him and Krista he couldn’t stop the dirty images. They played on repeat and forced blood flow to go south of his waistline.

 _Fuck, not now! Not today!_ Eren knew there was only one solution to calm the tidal wave: he needed to masturbate.

He allowed his imagination to run wild as his hand stroked his hard member. He chewed on his bottom lip as he groaned dirty things as the shower masked his voice with the sound of water splashing against the wall and floor. He cursed, he moaned, and finally, he leaned against the wall and called out the name of a certain blonde.

“Armin,” he grunted, feeling that rush as he orgasmed onto his hand.

He panted for air as he studied his hand with a lustful gaze. He then washed away his sins and shut the water off, grabbing a towel and rubbing his skin down and ruffling his hair. He wrapped his towel around his waist and stared at himself in the mirror, feeling the shame he felt before taking it upon himself to do what he did.

“Fuck,” he sighed, walking to his room to find something to wear. “I can’t do that again.”

Eren wore shorts and a light t-shirt and made his way downstairs for family breakfast. “Sorry I took so long.”

“Don’t worry about it. We have loads of time before the wedding,” Carla assured him, serving up some hash browns and sausages as she started going over her checklist for the wedding.

**. . .**

Armin laid in his bed, his eyes trained at the popcorn ceiling in his room. He barely left that spot for the entire week after having pig’s blood dumped on him the week before. That wasn’t even the worst part of the night, or even when Boris assaulted him. Being yelled at by Eren stuck out the most from that night. He couldn’t stop it from playing over and over in his head. The night after, Marco tried to get intimate with the blonde but it didn’t go that well. Armin wouldn’t let Marco touch him, not once that whole night or for the rest of the week.

Now, he was laying in bed on the day of his friend’s wedding that he couldn’t attend because of Eren’s final words to him. _Stay away from me, my family, my friends, and my future wife._

“I really fucked up,” he mumbled.

The door opened and Armin heard someone call his name, “Armin?”

 _It’s Mari. Gotta put on a brave face,_ Armin thought as he sat up.

“Are you hungry at all?” Mari asked.

Armin smiled but shook his head. “I already ate.”

“You haven’t left your room all day,” Mari replied. “Are you feeling alright? You’ve barely eaten.”

“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Armin insisted, still holding his false smile. “Just mentally preparing for post-secondary.”

Unconvinced, Mari nodded her head and left Armin to his lonesome, walking into the kitchen to join Gwenny and help her prepare supper. “He still won’t eat.”

“He’s been like this ever since last week,” Gwenny whispered. “He didn’t come home one night and the next day he went straight to his room. I heard him crying while I was getting ready for bed.”

“And Marco refuses to talk about it,” Mari added. “Those two used to be so close and now Armin won’t go near him or anyone. I don’t wanna pressure him into talking if it bothers him that much.”

“But what if something serious happened? We can’t just let him deal with whatever it is on his own,” Gwenny handed Mari a plate with a BLT sandwich on it. “Tell Marco that Armin made this for him.”

“What good would that do?” Mari asked.

“Maybe it’ll get them talking again,” Gwenny explained. “He’s the only one in this house that can get Armin out of depressive and anxious states. He needs his friend right now.”

Mari walked to the backyard where Marco was painting, something he only did when he had something on his mind. “Hi, sweetie.”

Marco looked over his shoulder, seeing his mom holding a plate of food. “Is that for me?”

“Armin made it for you,” Mari left the plate on Marco’s stool and got a better look at Marco’s artwork. “Is that a puppy?”

Marco smiled. “It’s me.”

“How come you look sad in this?” Mari asked.

Marco looked at his painting. He hadn’t realized the sad expression he put onto himself and thus reflected on the events of Sasha’s party. “Armin’s been having a rough time these past few days. No matter what I do, I can’t get through to him. He was supposed to go to a wedding today and it starts in two hours, but I can’t even get him to look at me let alone get him on his feet and out the door.”

Marco didn’t bring up the fact that he and Armin were dating. It would only complicate things in their household if his parents learned that he was sleeping with Armin. It wasn’t like any of that was happening, but it was better to leave that factoid under wraps. It wasn’t worth getting a lecture from either Mari or Gwenny about safe sex.

“Give it another shot,” Mari suggested, turning to go back into the house. “I think he misses you but feels trapped and can’t find the words to express it.”

Marco watched his mother head back inside and he took another look at his self-portrait. _I think I know how to get through to him._

Marco set his painting utensils down and made his way inside and to his and Armin’s room. He saw the blonde sprawled out on his bed with a blank stare directed at the ceiling. He didn’t even have to ask to know what Armin was thinking about, but he did anyway.

“You’re thinking about Eren again, aren’t you?”

Armin didn’t look away from his spot on the ceiling and replied, “Yeah.”

Marco’s suspicions were correct and he walked to his lover, holding out his hand. “Follow me. Please.”

Even if he wanted to move, Armin couldn’t operate any of the muscles that would have allowed him to stand up and follow Marco. He couldn’t even turn his head to look at him, nor could he speak in full sentences. He felt like an invalid because of the intrusive thoughts that were weighing him down.

The freckled teen huffed, knowing that this would happen. “Alright. You leave me no other choice.”

Marco shoved his arms under the blonde’s body and picked him up and carried him bridal style to the backyard and set him down on the grass before taking a seat beside him. “Do you like my painting?”

Armin looked up, seeing a beautiful portrait in front of him. “It looks like you.”

“Yeah,” Marco leaned back onto his hands. “I don’t paint often so I’m a little rusty, but I’d say it looks great.”

Armin looked over at Marco and smiled. “It looks exactly like you.”

He leaned in for a kiss and as much as Marco wanted something like this to happen, he stopped him. “Armin, I know you love Eren.”

Armin’s expression changed from neutral to devastated as he cried into his hands. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I couldn’t admit it before. I didn’t want to admit that I had used you not only to you but in front of almost the entire school. I couldn’t live with that guilt, but apparently, I can’t live with this either.”

“Armin, I’m not mad,” Marco replied. “Am I hurt that my first love turned out the way it did? Yeah. But, first loves don’t last and I was foolish for thinking that they did. I’m not gonna be the bitter ex-boyfriend and stop you from going after what you want though. So, Armin, get your ass in your Impala and go to that wedding.”

Armin, with strength and determination pulsing through his veins, pulled away and stood on his feet for the first time in days.

“I need to go,” He said before marching to his car. “I have a wedding to attend.”

 _It seems like desperate times call for desperate measures,_ he thought as he started dialling a number on his cellphone.

**. . .**

Eren was pacing the floor, freaking out over how late the bride and Mikasa were. The guys were doing their best to calm him down, using the excuse of him potentially wearing the floors out with all of his pacing, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. Two of the most important people at his wedding were missing in action with no way of finding them.

“Seriously dude, chill out,” Jean insisted, annoyance present in his tone. “They told me they were on their way.”

“That was a half-hour ago,” Eren replied. “It doesn’t take that long to get here from her place, does it?”

Eren was looking for anything to distract himself from the chaos that was going on around him. Caterers didn’t have vegan options available despite specific orders to do so, his mother was freaking out over the fact they ordered fake flowers instead of real ones, and the pastor who was supposed to officiate their wedding cancelled on them last minute which left the wedding planner to scramble to find someone who could step in for him. It was all falling apart at the seams at the worst possible time.

Jean’s phone buzzed in his pocket and he checked the screen. “It’s Mikasa. She and Krista are here.”

Eren ran to greet them but was held back by Grisha. “You can’t see Krista before the wedding. It’s bad luck. We’ll have Mikasa come here alone.”

Frustrated, Eren sat back down with his foot bouncing against the floor from nervosity. He could feel a headache coming on and pinched the bridge of his nose and winced from the slight pain. “Does anyone have any aspirin?” He asked.

Jean, the prepared one of the group, reached into his bag and tossed Eren a bottle of Tylenol. “Catch.”

Eren caught the bottle and took a pill with his glass of water. The wedding was supposed to start in an hour and almost nothing would be ready by that time. It was like the world was working against him today, and his naughty imagination about Armin wasn’t helping at all.

 _I can’t. I can’t still feel that way about him,_ He insisted to himself. _He was a temporary set back in the plan. For all I know, he could have orchestrated the whole thing!_

Clearly, Eren wasn’t thinking rationally.

Mikasa walked into the guys’ lounge, prompting Eren to rush over to her and hug her tightly. “Where were you guys? Was it the twins? Are my nephews okay?”

“Nephews?” Mikasa raised her eyebrows at him. “Since when am I having boys?”

“I think it’s boys,” Eren smiled. “It’s so good to see you.”

“Come on, let’s get you ready,” Mikasa returned his smile and sat him down so she could do some touch-ups to his appearance.

“Where were you though? You had me worried sick,” Eren spoke again.

Mikasa kept her smile and replied, “Stuck in traffic, but what matters is that Krista and I are here now, so let’s not worry about that anymore.”

Eren complied and let her sister fix him up for the next ten or so minutes. She fluffed his hair up and added a boutonnière with fake white roses to the lapel of his suit jacket for a finishing touch. With one last spritz of hairspray, she told Eren to relax while she went to help Krista get ready.

The girls’ lounge was next door and she quietly let herself in, seeing that Krista was in her underwear, simply staring at her dress in her lap. “What’s up?”

“Thanks for running interference,” Krista said. “And thanks for telling the security guard that Armin was welcome.”

Mikasa smiled. “I want what’s best for everyone in this situation, and that means you need to be with your girlfriend. She makes you happy.”

“Don’t pretend like you’re doing this for me,” Krista looked up at Mikasa. “You’re doing this for Eren, only because Armin called me while we were on our way over.”

“I wasn’t doing that. I just wanted to say it,” Mikasa opened her makeup kit. “Want some help getting ready to at least make this look real?”

Krista stood up and stepped into her dress. “Could you do my makeup for me?”

“Of course.” Mikasa zipped up the back of her dress and got to work setting her face with various products.

Once everyone was accounted for and in the places they needed to be, guests were rolling in and the music started to play. Mikasa and Jean walked down the aisle first, giving them the chance to show off their twins, then came Annie and Krista’s mom, then Eren’s parents took their turn and Eren followed them soon after that.

Then, it was time for Krista to make her grand entrance.

Her arm was linked with her father’s as the two of them made their way into the room. All eyes were glued to her as she looked straight ahead to the altar. Her father hugged her before taking a seat, leaving her to walk the rest of the way and stand in front of Eren. She could see from the entrance that there was no love for her in his eyes, but seeing them up close intensified the impression they gave her.

 _I beg of you, Eren. Please run,_ She silently prayed as the ceremony started.

It was a boring hour for the bride and the groom. Krista kept looking towards the door, waiting for something to stop the ceremony from happening, and Eren was on edge and fighting between seeing the day through or running away from what could have been the biggest mistake of his life. They didn’t write vows for each other and ended up glossing over what would have taken an extra fifteen minutes of talking, so their decision together would have to be made now or never.

“Historia, do you take Eren Yeager to be your lawfully wedded husband, for rich or for poor and in sickness and in health?” the pastor asked Krista.

She looked at the officiate and back at Eren, giving a subtle shake of her head as she replied, “I do.”

 _I can’t go through with this, but I can’t just run away,_ Eren’s anxiety was taking over.

The pastor turned to Eren and asked, “And do you, Eren, take Historia to be your lawfully wedded wife, for rich or for poor and in sickness and in health?”

He gulped and shakily replied, “I-I do.”

“And by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife!” the pastor rejoiced. “You may now kiss the bride!”

Eren stepped closer to Krista and leaned down hesitantly. _I can’t do this! I can’t do this! What would Armin say?_

The sound of the entrance doors slammed open, followed by a familiar voice to both Eren and Krista. “Wait! I object!”

Eren didn’t get the chance to seal his fate with the kiss and looked over to the back. Armin was standing at the entrance with multiple pairs of angry eyes on him.

“What the hell is going on?” Grisha growled.

“And what is your reason for objecting to their matrimony?” the pastor asked, visibly annoyed by Armin’s presence.

“Because you don’t love her, Eren!” Armin yelled. “Everyone on that stage knows who you’re really in love with!”

“How did you even get in here?” Jean was about to step in and kick him out, but Eren stopped him.

“Let him speak!” Eren yelled.

Armin stood tall and walked up to the altar. “You never found love with Krista. As much as you want to think you did, you didn’t. You found love with me! Think back to every time you felt your heart flutter when you were with her and then compare those times to us. To when we were together. To when we loved each other.

He became close enough to grab Eren’s hand and get down on one knee. “Actually, I still love you. I have been in love with you the entire time we knew each other. I fell in love with you from the first time we kissed. Sure, I looked different, but that was no act. That was all me, expressing everything that I was feeling for you. So please, do _not_ make the biggest mistake of your life by marrying someone you don’t love.”

Eren was taken aback by Armin's courageous stance. He tried to contain his smile but did so to no avail. It was then he finally realized why Krista’s welcoming aura made guest appearances in their love life and why he felt that same comforting embrace when he was with Armin.

“I’m sorry I was oblivious for this long!” Eren cried, hugging Armin tightly.

“Don’t be sorry, Eren,” Armin replied. “Just love me the way you used to.”

Krista’s mother stood up and separated the two men. “I’m sorry, but we plan on our daughter marrying their son. And from the way Eren’s friend was reacting, you’re not supposed to be in here so I suggest you leave or we’ll call the police!”

Armin didn’t bother with tempting fate and agreed. “I’m glad I got to say my peace.”

Eren grabbed his wrist and pulled him up to the altar. “I will marry you right now if it means we never part ways again. I mean it.”

Krista’s mother tried to separate them once again but her plans were foiled by her own daughter. “Mom, it isn’t worth it! I don’t even like him! I don’t even like guys! I’ve had a girlfriend for almost three years!”

Armin, flustered at how many people wanted to murder him for ruining a wedding, replied, “Eren, that’s a bit extreme.”

“I know but if that’s what it takes for us to never be broken apart again, I’m willing to go that far,” Eren insisted.

“I’m not even wearing a tux,” Armin told him. “Eren, I wanna do this someday with you, but right now it’s all a little too sudden.”

Eren, no longer worried about who would be upset that his so-called wedding was now in complete shambles at the hands of his boyfriend, nodded his head and hugged him close. “That’s a good enough answer for me, sweetheart.”


	30. Let's Do The Time Warp Again

“Armin! Breakfast is ready!” Eren called as he slid an omelette onto the blonde’s plate. “I know you hate the mornings but you need to get up today!”

“I’m too tired! Can we just cancel?” Armin asked groggily.

Eren was unimpressed by Armin acting like a typical teenager. “No, now get out of bed or I’ll go in there and get you myself!”

“Make me!” Armin replied, hiding under the covers.

Eren sighed in annoyance and set his frying pan and spatula into the sink before walking back to their room. He stood in the doorway and saw that Armin was not only awake underneath the blanket but also kicking his feet, making the blanket sway back and forth.

“Can I help you with something?” Eren asked, ripping off the covers to reveal Armin with a bulge in his underwear.

“Don’t look at it!” Armin shrieked, covering his crotch with a pillow. “I woke up with it and it won’t go away.”

“Oh, I get those all the time,” Eren explained. “They go away after fifteen minutes.”

“I don’t have the luxury of staying in bed for that long, especially not today,” Armin sighed, sitting up with the pillow still in his lap. “Are there quicker ways of getting rid of it?”

“I mean, there are ways that make you feel amazing afterwards,” Eren crawled over to Armin and planted a kiss on his forehead. “Do you trust me?”

Armin nodded his head eagerly. “Yes!”

Eren reached over to their nightstand drawer and pulled out a bottle of lubrication. He tossed it to Armin and proceeded to stand up and walk towards the door. “Have fun!” He laughed.

“Eren!” Armin whined. “Fine, I’m coming.”

“Not yet, you’re not,” Eren laughed, ducking to avoid being hit in the face with Armin’s modesty pillow. “Come out, I made you an omelette.”

Armin sighed and followed Eren out to the kitchen, throwing his pillow back into their room before sitting down at their counter for breakfast. “You excited?”

“Of course I’m excited!” Eren beamed with joy. “I get to watch two of my favourite people in the world get married!”

Armin finished up his breakfast quickly and set his plate and silverware into the sink. “I still need to shower.”

“I’ll join you,” Eren offered, rinsing his dishes off.

“Remember the last time we showered together before we had to go somewhere?” Armin smirked at the memory of their steamy shower together.

“We were steaming up the shower more than the hot water,” Eren wrapped his arms around the blonde’s waist and kissed his neck. “We could do that again if you want.”

Armin could never say no to the sultry look in Eren’s eyes. “Race you there.”

The two sped walked to their bathroom, leaving their clothing behind as they ran into their bathroom and shut the door. Their hands were latched to each other’s bodies as Eren picked Armin up and carried him into the shower, pressing him against the wall and biting the skin of his collarbone. They had a wedding to go to and couldn’t make it obvious that they had sex.

Eren grabbed the waterproof lubricant and applied it to his hard member, then pushed slowly into Armin and thrust into him as the water speckled against their bodies. The sound of the gushing water masked Armin’s cries of ecstasy as the blonde dug his nails into Eren’s back. He begged Eren to go harder and harder and his lustful cries became louder and louder. Armin could feel the knots tangling up in his abdomen as his legs shook, and he pulled back slightly to kiss Eren as he climaxed onto both his and Eren’s chests.

Eren finished soon after, slowing his thrusting to a stop and pulling Armin into a passionate kiss. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Armin reciprocated, out of breath. “C’mon, we gotta get ready now.”

Eren pulled out of Armin and eloped him back to his feet. He grabbed the body wash and the two washed off any remnants of sexual desire from their limbs. It would only be a story told at the reception by words and not by visuals.

Once they were both finished, Armin shut the water off and grabbed a towel from the rack to dry himself off with. “Brush our teeth, get dressed, and then we’ll be off?” Armin asked, ruffling his hair with the towel.

“That’s what I was thinking,” Eren replied, doing the same and stepping out of the shower. “How much time do we have?”

“Well, it’s about seven in the morning now and it’s about a two-hour drive from here to Niagara Falls,” Armin spoke as he grabbed his toothbrush. “The ceremony starts at eleven though and we should be there an hour beforehand to mingle and reconnect a bit. We have to be there before everyone else though because we’re part of the wedding.”

“Let’s leave within the hour then,” Eren suggested.

Armin shrugged and the pair started getting ready by brushing their teeth, getting dressed into their groomsmen outfits, and throwing on their good shoes. Eren grabbed the keys to his Cadillac while Armin checked to make sure they had everything, and the two locked and left their apartment for the city of Niagara Falls.

After a quick coffee run after pulling off of the 403, Eren drove through the downtown area to get to the venue on the north end towards the reservoir and the butterfly conservatory. He pulled into the parking lot and the two made their way over to the venue building where the rest of the wedding-goers were.

Eren pulled Armin along to keep him from greeting everyone too much and pulled him into the guys’ lounge where Jean and the other groomsmen were. “S’up, bud!”

“Nothing much,” Jean replied, giving both Eren and Armin a handshake. “You guys remember Connie, right?”

“Still shorter than everyone in the room, I see,” Eren laughed, ducking to avoid the pen Connie threw at him. “Damn, _everyone_ is throwing stuff at me today.”

“Pardon my boyfriend, Connie. I’m Armin,” the blonde shook the shorter male’s hand. “We’ve spoken on the phone before but never met in person.”

“Nice to finally meet you,” Connie replied. “I’m a friend from Jean’s college. I took kinesiology.”

“I had to do that for my paramedic studies,” Armin replied.

“Uncle Eren!” a little boy’s voice yelled.

Eren felt a weight on his leg and looked down to see Christopher, Jean and Mikasa’s son. “Hey, Chris! You excited for your daddy to get married?”

“Mhm! I’m gonna catch Mommy’s bouquet!” Christopher replied and went to hug Armin. “When are you guys gonna get married?”

“Yeah!” Christopher’s twin sister, Samara (but she wanted to be called Sam,) yelled. “Why aren’t you guys married yet?”

“Inside voices, kids,” Jean spoke up. “I’m sure they just aren’t ready to get married.”

“Exactly, we’re just not ready yet,” Armin agreed.

“Well be ready soon! I wanna catch your bouquet!” Sam insisted.

Armin smiled and picked her up. “Did you cut your hair again? It looks beautiful!”

“Yeah, I hate long hair,” Sam replied, grabbing at Armin’s golden locks. “I like yours though. It’s very pretty.”

“Thank you, sweetie,” Armin smiled.

Armin saw Marco across the room leaning against the wall and didn't bother trying anymore and left Marco at the wall. After what happened at the end of high school, Armin learned that Marco ended up taking out his emotions on his artwork and sold portraits of him. This all happened after a drunk call that happened after his one-year anniversary with Eren, leaving him to completely cut ties with Marco.

Eren put his hand on Armin’s shoulder. “It was for the best.”

Armin nodded his head. _It was for the best._

“You ready?” the blonde asked Jean as he grabbed his boutonnière of orchids for the lapel of his jacket. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” Jean replied, shaking the nerves from his body. “It’s about time we had everyone take their seats.”

“I’ll let everyone know,” Marco spoke up, making a beeline for the door.

The guys met up with the bridesmaids and Jean’s mom and stood near the back of the crowd in a certain order and certain person. Eren disappeared to find Mikasa so he could walk her down the aisle and Armin linked arms with Annie. Once they heard the wedding music, everyone started walking in between the rows of chairs towards the altar, which was giving Armin a feeling of uneasiness.

“I remember the last time I was at a wedding, I ruined it,” Armin whispered to Annie.

“That’s because you crashed it so I think you’ll be fine this time around,” she replied before the two separated from each other.

The guests stood up for Mikasa’s grand entrance. Eren had his arm intertwined with her’s as the two walked down the carpet. Nobody could take their eyes off of Mikasa, especially Jean who was tearing up at the sight of her. Up until this point, he never saw anything related to her wedding apparel, so the shock of seeing her in a white dress made butterflies form in his stomach.

Eren let his sister go and took his place next to Armin as the bride walked up to her groom and stood across from him. “Hi,” she smiled.

“Hey,” Jean smiled back.

“Shall we begin?” the officiator spoke up and the ceremony officially began.

The welcoming messages were spoken as well as the readings before moving onto the vows, in which Jean went first. “Mikasa, there isn’t much that I can say today that I haven’t already told you before. You’re kind, you’re generous, you understood my reasoning for having such a long engagement. I’ve already told you all the things I would do for you before today, except for one thing. I was waiting for today to say it to make it seem even more special than it already sounded. I vow to always stand by your side through everything this cruel world will throw at us. An earthquake, a terrorist attack, nothing can keep me from standing by you and our kids. Whatever it takes, I know we can make it through.”

Mikasa set her bouquet of black roses down and opened her leaflet. “Jean, when we first met, I thought you were going to kill me and I wanted to beat you for it. It’s a good thing I didn’t put you in the hospital because I wouldn’t be standing here, serenading the love of my life, if I had. You helped my heart remember what a good man was supposed to be. A good man is kind, a good man is respectful, a good man knows how to make someone feel safe in any situation, and you are all of these things and many more that I don’t have the time to list for you. You will be the greatest father and role model our kids could ever ask for. I vow to always see the good in you, I vow to always be there for you, and I vow to always cut your hair so that we don’t have another accident like last time when it looked like you took a weed whacker to your head. No, I didn’t forget that and now nobody here will.”

Everyone in the audience laughed and Mikasa then invited her kids on stage with her and put her notes away. “So, Jean, it’s funny how you brought up the kids because now I have a segway for an announcement I’ve been waiting to talk about for a few weeks now. I’m pregnant.”

Everyone’s eyes went wide as Jean stuttered, “Are you serious? Please tell me you’re not joking.”

Mikasa reached into her sleeve and pulled out a positive pregnancy test. “The doctor says I’m six weeks.”

Jean reached over to hug his soon-to-be-wife and cried into her shoulder. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” Mikasa whispered back before parting from him. “Let’s get married.”

Jean smiled and nodded, turning to the officiator. “I’m sorry, we can continue now.”

She nodded her head and the exchange of the rings was next on the list, then came the most important part of the ceremony. “Jean, do you take‒”

“Yes! A hundred times yes!” Jean cut her off. “Sorry, I’m just excited to call her my wife.”

“No worries, I was the same way when I got married,” She replied. “And I assume you’re gonna interrupt me by saying yes?”

Mikasa nodded her head.

“Okay, by the power vested in me and the eagerness these two have to get hitched, I now pronounce you Husband and Wife!” the officiator declared. “You may now kiss the bride!”

Jean and Mikasa pulled each other close and kissed, erupting cheers from the guests and Annie and the groomsmen. It took some time and effort, but eventually, they parted from each other so that people could get photos with the newly married couple.

With the photos all done, the reception kicked off into full swing as speeches were made and music blared through the speakers. Everyone was either dancing or having a drink and shooting the breeze with each other, everyone was having a blast. But soon enough, the party began to wind down a bit.

Armin saw Krista across the dance floor. He noticed her and Ymir in the audience during the ceremony but didn’t dare to talk to her. Neither one of them had spoken since their first Christmas away from each other and he felt guilty for not keeping contact with her like he did Jean and Mikasa.

“Just go talk to her,” Eren said out of nowhere. “Ask her for a dance. It’ll give you the chance to catch up.”

I handed him my drink and walked across the room to Krista, holding out his hand for her to grasp. “May I have this dance?”

She looked up and nodded, letting Armin bring her to the dance floor. With her hands placed on his shoulders and his at her waistline, the two swayed to the slow music and shot the shit with each other.

“How have you been?” Armin asked.

Krista shrugged. “Not terrible. I got referred by my boss to therapy for depression, but I kind of figured that would happen after my suicide attempt.”

“Is that why you’re wearing sleeves in July?” Armin asked.

Krista nodded. “Yeah. But hey, I’m getting better with every session, even if it’s only a little bit of progress at a time. So, how’ve you and Uncle Eren over there been?”

Armin looked over to find that Eren was taking turns dancing with Sam and Christopher and smiled. “It’s been amazing. Sam wouldn’t shut up about wanting us to get married.”

“I’m with her on that,” Krista agreed. “Just get hitched already. I did.”

“You did?” Armin raised an eyebrow at her. “When?”

“A year ago,” She replied, showing him the ring. “We eloped since we couldn’t afford a grand wedding like this. My old nanny was our witness. Funny enough, she knew I was gay and dating Ymir way before I came out at that wedding years ago and offered to be our witness.”

“That’s amazing to hear,” Armin couldn’t hold a smile due to his guilt. “I’m sorry I lost contact. Things got busy with school and then Mikasa went into labour earlier than we thought. It all just piled up and I never got to call you back.”

“I wasn’t worried, I never had the time either,” Krista replied, pulling Armin into a warm embrace. “But this is nice, talking to you again.”

Armin smiled. “I should get back to Eren.”

Krista let him go and watched as he went from a neutral stare to a smiling expression as he stood with Eren. She went back to Ymir and pulled her to the dance floor, begging for one last dance before they had to catch their flight. Jean and Mikasa were still on the dance floor as well, as everyone was getting their last dance in before they had to clear the venue for the next day’s event.

“What a perfect way to end the night,” Mikasa spoke up. “Jean and I are married, I’m having a baby, Krista and Ymir are happily married‒”

“Wait, when did you guys get married?” Eren asked. “And how did you know?”

“I saw her ring from a mile away,” Mikasa replied. “You guys are the odd ones out now.”

“So it’s your turn to tell us to get married,” Armin laughed. “I told you guys, we will get married when the time is right.”

Everyone had a laugh and soon, the reception was over. Saying their final goodbyes to one another, they all went in different directions. Eren offered to drive Krista and Ymir to the airport but they refused, insisting on not being a burden to them. Eren and Armin didn’t press the subject and drove back to their home.

Once they reached their apartment, Armin kicked off his shoes and loosened his pink tie. “Remind me to never go to a wedding again. That was insanely stressful.”

“Aw, are you tired?” Eren asked, wrapping his arms around the blonde and undoing the buttons of his white-collar shirt from behind. “I was in the mood for a bit of fun.”

Armin kissed Eren’s cheek and whispered into his ear, “I guess I could use some help de-escalating my stress levels.”

Eren picked Armin up and carried him to their room, gently placing him onto the bed and connecting their lips. They didn’t stop for anything and took turns pleasuring each other in all the right places before Eren grabbed their bottle of lube and slathering it onto his hard member. He wiped the excess on Armin’s entrance and pushed in, earning a groan from Armin.

Their voices carried their desires throughout the night as Armin begged for it the way he begged for an orgasm in the shower that morning. Eren looked into Armin’s eyes, seeing a different emotion from that morning. It was love, a love that needed no words for him to understand.

He wrapped his arms around the blonde, hugging him closer and grunting as he felt himself spill his seed into Armin’s backside as he felt Armin squirt onto his chest. He kissed Armin immediately afterwards and looked down at him.

“I love you so much,” Eren said.

Armin, out of breath and thus rounded out the perfect day they had together with a simple phrase that held much more raw emotion behind it, hugged Eren tightly and replied, “I love you too, Eren.”


End file.
